History of the Jews

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NY PUBLIC LIBRARY THE BRANCH LIBRARIES

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HISTORY OF THE JEWS

HISTORY OF THE JEWS,.

BY

PROFESSOR H. GRAET^f

527-

* * *
* *

VOL. V.

FROM THE CHMIELNICKI PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS IN
POLAND (1648 c. E.) TO THE PRESENT TIME (1870 c. E.).

PHILADELPHIA:

JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY or AMERICA.
1895.

COPYRIGHT, 1895,
BY THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA

PRESS AND BINDERY OF
-RIEOENWALQ CO., BALTIMORE

3.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.

CHMIELNICKI AND THE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS OF
POLAND BY THE COSSACKS.

Condition of the Jews in Poland before the Outbreak of Per-
secution— Influence of the Jesuits — Characteristics of
Poles and Jews — The Home of the Cossacks — Repression
of the Cossacks by the Government — Jews appointed as
Tax Farmers — Jurisdiction of the Synods — The Study of
the Talmud in Poland — Hebrew Literature in that Coun-
try becomes entirely Rabbinical — Character of Polish Ju-
daism— Jews and Cossacks — Chmielnicki — Sufferings of
the Jews in Consequence of his Successes — The Tartar
Haidamaks — Fearful Massacres in Nemirov, Tulczyn, and
Homel — Prince Vishnioviecki — Massacres at Polonnoie,
Lemberg, Narol, and in Other Towns — John Casimir—
Lipmann Heller and Sabbata'i Cohen — Renewal of the
War between Cossacks and Poles — Russians join Cos-
sacks in attacking the Jews — Charles X of Sweden — The
Polish Fugitives — " Polonization " of Judaism . page i

1648 — 1656 c. E.
CHAPTER II.

SETTLEMENT OF THE JEWS IN ENGLAND AND MANASSEH

BEN ISRAEL.

Obstacles to the Resettlement of Jews in England — Manas-
seh ben Israel — His Character and Attainments — Chris-
tian Students of Jewish Literature: Scaliger, the Buxtorfs,
Selden, and Vossius — Women devote themselves to He-
brew— The Fifth-Monarchy Men: Expectation of the Mil-
lennium— Enthusiastic Friends of the Jews — The Puri-
tans— Cromwell and Holmes — Nicholas' Protection of the
Jews — " The Hope of Israel " -Fresh Victims of the In-
quisition— Manasseh ben Israel's Negotiations with the
English Parliament — He journeys to London, and is gra-
ciously received by Cromwell — A Council sits at White-

iv CONTENTS.

hall to decide the Question of the Re-admission of the
Jews Prynne's anti-Jewish Work — Controversial Pam-
phlets—Manasseh's "Vindication" -The Re-admission

of the Jews connived at PaSe 1 8

1655 — 1657 c. E.

CHAPTER III.

THE SCEPTICS.

Condition of Judaism — Complete Triumph of the Kabbala—
The Disciples of Isaac Lurya — Vital Calabrese, Abraham
de Herrera, and Isaiah Hurwitz — Immanuel Aboab—
Uriel da Costa; his Career and Death — Leo Modena; his
Character and his Writings — Deborah Ascarelli and Sarah
Copia Sullam, Jewish Authoresses — Leo Modena's Veiled
Scepticism — The Travels and Influence of Joseph Del-
medigo — The Writings of Simone Luzzatto . . page 51

1620 — 1660 c. E.
CHAPTER IV.

SPINOZA AND SABBATAI ZEVI.

Spinoza's Youth and Education — His Intellectual Breach
with Judaism — Fresh Martyrs of the Inquisition — The
Rabbis and Spinoza - - Excommunication — Spinoza's
" Tractate " and " Ethics " —Spinoza's Writings Concern-
ing Judaism — Spinoza's Contemporaries in Amsterdam—
De Paz and Penso — The Mystical Character of the Years
1648 and 1666 — Sabbatai Zevi's Early Career — The Jeru-
salem Community — Sabbatai's Travels — Nathan Ghazati
—Sabbatai announced in Smyrna as the Messiah — Spread
of Enthusiastic Belief in the pseudo-Messiah — Manoel
Texeira — Ritual Changes introduced by the Sabbatians—
Sabbatai proceeds to Constantinople — Nehemiah Cohen
—Sabbatai Zevi's Apostasy to Islam and its Consequences
—Continuation of the Sabbatian Movement — Death of
Sabbatai and Spinoza — Results of the Sabbatian Impos-
ture PaSe 86

1656 — 1677 c. E.

CHAPTER V.

LIGHT AND SHADE.

Jews under Mahometan Rulers — Expulsion from Vienna-
Jews admitted by Elector Frederick William into the

CONTENTS. V

Mark of Brandenburg — Charge of Child-murder in Metz
—Milder Treatment of Jews throughout Europe — Chris-
tian Champions of the Jews: Jurieu, Oliger Pauli, and
Moses Germanus — Predilection of Christians for the Study
of Jewish Literature — Richard Simon — Interest taken by
Charles XI in the Karaites — Peringer and Jacob Trigland
—German Attacks on Judaism by Wiilfer, Wagenseil, and
Eisenmenger — Circumstances of the Publication of Ju-
daism Unmasked — The Alenu Prayer — Surenhuysius,
Basnage, Unger, Wolf,, and Toland .... page 168

1669 — 1700 c. E.
CHAPTER VI.

GENERAL DEMORALIZATION OF JUDAISM.

Low Condition of the Jews at the End of the Seventeenth
Century — Representatives of Culture: David Nieto, Je-
huda Brieli — The Kabbala — Jewish Chroniclers — Lopez
Laguna translates the Psalms into Spanish — De Barrios—
The Race after Wealth — General Poverty of the Jews-
Revival of Sabbatianism — Daniel Israel Bonafoux, Car-
dosa, Mordecai of Eisenstadt, Jacob Querido, and Be-
rachya — Sabbatianism in Poland — Abraham Cuenqui—
Judah Chassid — Chayim Malach — Solomon Ayllon—
Nehemiah Chayon — David Oppenheim's Famous Library
— Chacham Zevi — The Controversy on Chayon's Hereti-
cal Works in Amsterdam Page 199

1700 — 1725 c. E.
CHAPTER VII.

THE AGE OF LUZZATTO, EIBESCHUTZ, AND FRANK.

Poetical Works of Moses Chayim Luzzatto — Luzzatto en-
snared in the Kabbala — His Contest with Rabbinical Au-
thorities— Luzzatto's Last Drama — Jonathan Eibeschiitz—
Character and Education of Eibeschiitz — His Relations
with the Jesuits in Prague — The Austrian War of Succes-
sion— Expulsion of the Jews from Prague — Eibeschiitz
becomes Rabbi of Altona — Jacob Emden — Eibeschiitz
charged with Heresy — The Controversy between Emden
and Eibeschiitz— The Amulets — Party Strife — Interfer-
ence by Christians and the Civil Authorities — Revival of
Sabbatianism — Jacob Frank Lejbowicz and the Frankists
— The Doctrine of the Trinity— Excesses of the Frankists.

page 232

1727 1760 C. E.

vi CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE MENDELSSOHN EPOCH.

Renaissance of the Jewish Race— Moses Mendelssohn—
His Youth — Improves Hebrew Style — Lessing and Men-
delssohn—Mendelssohn's Writings— The Bonnet-Lavater
Controversy— Kolbele— The Burial Question— Reimarus
-Anonymous Publication of his Work — Lessing's " Na-
than the Wise" — Mendelssohn in " Nathan " -Mendels-
sohn's Pentateuch— Opposition to it— The 'Berlin Re-
ligion " -Montesquieu — Voltaire - - Portuguese Marranos
in Bordeaux — Isaac Pinto — His Defense of Portuguese
jews — Dohm and Mendelssohn — Joseph II of Austria-
Michaelis-- Mendelssohn's "Jerusalem" -Wessely: his
Circular Letter — Mendelssohn's Death . . . page 291

1750 — 1786 c. E.
CHAPTER IX.

THE NEW CHASSIDISM.

The Alliance of Reason with Mysticism — Israel Baalshem,
his Career and Reputation — Movement against Rabbin-
ism — The " Zaddik " —Beer Mizricz, his Arrogance and
Deceptions — The Devotional Methods of the Chassidim
-Their Liturgy — Dissolution of the Synods " of the Four
Countries " —Cossack Massacres in Poland — Elijah Wil-
na, his Character and Method of Research — The Mizricz
and Karlin Chassidim — Circumstances prove Favorable
to the Spread of the New Sect — Vigorous Proceedings
against them in Wilna — Death of Beer Mizricz — Progress
of Chassidism despite the Persecution of its Opponents.

1750 — 1786 C. E. page 374

CHAPTER X.

THE MEASFIM AND THE JUD^O-CHRISTIAN SALON.

The Progressionists — The Gatherer (Meassef) — David
Mendes — Moses Ensheim — Wessely's Mosaid — Marcus
Herz — Solomon Maimon — Culture of the Berlin Jews-
Influence of French Literature — First Step for Raising
the Jews — The Progressive and Orthodox Parties — The
Society of Friends — Friedlander and Conversion — De-
pravity of Berlin Jewesses — Henrietta Herz— Humboldt
-Dorothea Mendelssohn — Schlegel — Rachel — Schleier-
macher — Chateaubriand page 395

1786 — 1791 c. E.

CONTENTS. Vll

CHAPTER XL

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE EMANCIPATION OF

THE JEWS.

Foreshadowing of the French Revolution — Cerf Berr—
Mirabeau on the Jewish Question in France — Berr Isaac
Berr — The Jewish Question and the National Assembly-
Equalization of Portuguese Jews — Efforts to equalize
Paris Jews — Jewish Question deferred — Equalization of
French Jews — Reign of Terror — Equalization of Jews of
Holland — Adath Jeshurun Congregation — Spread of
Emancipation — Bonaparte in Palestine — Fichte's Jew-
hatred— The Poll-Tax— Grund's "Petition of Jews of
Germany " — Jacobson — Breidenbach — Lefrank — Alexan-
der I of Russia: his Attempts to improve the Condition of
the Jews of Russia page 429

170,1 — 1805 c. E.
CHAPTER XII.

THE JEWISH-FRENCH SYNHEDRION AND THE JEWISH

CONSISTORIES.

Jew-hatred in Strasburg — Bonald's Accusations — Plots
against French Jews — Furtado — David Sinzheim — As-
sembly of Notables — Italian Deputies — The Twelve Ques-
tions— Debate on Mixed Marriages — The Paris Synhe-
drion — Its Constitution — Napoleon's Enactments — Is-
rael Jacobson — Consistory of Westphalia — Emancipation
in Germany — In the Hanse-Towns — Restrictions in Sax-
ony page 474

1806 — 1813 c. E.
CHAPTER XIII.

THE REACTION AND TEUTOMANIA.

The Jews in the Wars for Freedom — The Congress of Vi-
enna— Hardenberg and Metternich — Riihs' Christian
Germanism — Jew-hatred in Germany and Rome — German
Act of Federation — Ewald's Defense of Judaism — Jew-
hatred in Prussia — Lewis Way — Congress at Aix — Hep-
hep Persecution — Hartwig Hundt — Julius von Voss—
Jewish Avengers PaSc 51°

1813 — 1818 c. E.

Vlll CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIV.

BORNE AND HEINE.

Borne and Heine — Dome's Youth — His Attitude to Judaism

-His Love of Liberty — His Defense of the Jews — Heine:

his Position with Regard to Judaism — The Rabbi of Bach-

arach — Heine's Thoughts upon Judaism — Influence of

Borne and Heine page 536

1819 — 1830 c. E.

CHAPTER XV.

REFORM AND YOUNG ISRAEL.

Segregation of the Jews — Its Results — Secession and Obsti-
nate Conservatism — Israel Jacobson — His Reforms — The
Hamburg Reform Temple Union — Gotthold Salomon-
Decay of Rabbinical Authority — Eleazar Libermann—
Aaron Chorin — Lazarus Riesser — Party Strife — Isaac
Bernays — His Writings — Bernays in Hamburg — Mann-
heimer — His Congregation in Vienna — Berlin Society for
Culture — Edward Cans — His Baptism — Collapse of the
Society for Culture page 557

1818 — 1830 c. E.
CHAPTER XVI.

AWAKENING OF INDEPENDENCE AND THE SCIENCE OF

JUDAISM.

Dawn of Self-respect — Research into Jewish History — Han-
nah Adams — Solomon Lowisohn — Jost — His History—
The Revolution of July (1830) — Gabriel Riesser — His
Lectures — Steinheim — His Works — His " Revelation "
Nachman Krochmal — Rapoport — Erter — His Poems—
Rapoport's Writings — Zunz — Luzzatto — His Exegesis—
Geiger — The " Nineteen Letters " of Ben Usiel — New
School of Reform — Joel Jacoby bage 589

1830 — 1840 c. E.
CHAPTER XVII.

THE YEAR 1840 AND THE BLOOD ACCUSATION AT DAMASCUS.

Mehmet AH— Ratti Menton— Damascus— Father Tomaso—
His Disappearance — Blood Accusation against the Jews
of Damascus — Imprisonment of Accused — Their Tor-

CONTENTS. IX

tures and Martyrdom — Blood Accusation in Rhodes—
In Prussia — Adolf Cremieux — Meeting of English Jews
—Moses Montefiore — Nathaniel de Rothschild — Merlato,
the Austrian Consul — Plots — Thiers — Steps taken by the
Jews in Paris and London — Bernard van Oven — Mansion
House Meeting — Montefiore, Cremieux, and others sent
to Egypt — Solomon Munk Page 632

1840 c. E.
CHAPTER XVIII.

EVENTS PRECEDING THE REVOLUTIONS OF FEBRUARY AND

MARCH, 1848, AND THE SUBSEQUENT SOCIAL

ADVANCE OF THE JEWS.

Return of Montefiore and Cremieux from the East — Patri-
otic Suggestions — General Indecision — Gabriel Riesser—
Michael Creizenach — Reform Party in Frankfort — Rab-
binical Assembly - - Holdheim - - Reform Association -
Zachariah Frankel — The Berlin Reform Temple — Michael
Sachs — His Character — His Biblical Exegesis — Hold-
heim and Sachs — The Jewish German Church — Pro-
gress of Jewish Literature — Ewald and his Works — En-
franchisement of English Jews — The Breslau Jewish Col-
lege— Its Founders — The Mortara Case — Pope Pius IX
— The Alliance Israelite — Astruc, Cohn, Caballo, Masuel,
Netter — The American Jews — The " Union of American
Hebrew Congregations " -The Anglo- Jewish Association
— Benisch, Lowy — The " Israelitische Allianz " -Wert-
heimer, Goldschmidt, Kuranda — Rapid Social Advance
of the Jews — Rise of Anti-Semitism .... page 667

1840 — 1870 c. E.
Retrospect page 705

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CHAPTER I.

CHMIELNICKI AND THE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS OF
POLAND BY THE COSSACKS.

Condition of the Jews in Poland before the Outbreak of Persecution-
Influence of the Jesuits— Characteristics of Poles and Jews — The
Home of the Cossacks— Repression of the Cossacks by the
Government — Jews appointed as Tax Farmers — Jurisdiction of
the Synods— The Study of the Talmud in Poland— Hebrew Liter-
ature in that Country becomes entirely Rabbinical — Character
of Polish Judaism— Jews and Cossacks— Chmielnicki— Suffer-
ing's of the Jews in consequence of his Successes — The Tartar
Haidamaks— Fearful Massacres in Nemirov, Tulczyn, and
Homel — Prince Vishnioviecki— Massacres at Polonnoie, Lem-
berg, Narol, and in other Towns— John Casimir— Lipmann Heller
and Sabbata'i Cohen — Renewal of the War between Cossacks
and Poles — Russians join Cossacks in attacking the Jews-
Charles X of Sweden — The Polish Fugitives — " Polonization "
of Judaism.

1648—1656 c. E.

POLAND ceased to be a haven for the sons of Judah,
when its short-sighted kings summoned the Jesuits
to supervise the training of the young nobles and
the clergy and crush the spirit of the Polish dis-
sidents. These originators of disunion, to whom
the frequent partition of Poland must be attributed,
sought to undermine the unobtrusive power which
the Jews, through their money and prudence,
exercised over the nobles, and they combined with
their other foes, German workmen and trades-
people, members of the guilds, to restrict and
oppress them. After that time there were repeated
persecutions of Jews in Poland ; sometimes the
German guild members, sometimes the disciples of

2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

the Jesuits, raised a hue and cry against them.
Still, in the calamities of the Thirty Years' War,
fugitive Jews sought Poland, because the canonical
laws against Jews were not applied there with strict-
ness. The high nobility continued to be dependent
on Jews, who in a measure counterbalanced the
national defects. Polish flightiness, levity, unsteadi-
ness, extravagance, and recklessness were compen-
sated for by Jewish prudence, sagacity, economy,
and cautiousness. The Jew was more than a finan-
cier to the Polish nobleman ; he was his help in
embarrassment, his prudent adviser, his all-in-all.
Especially did the nobility make use of Jews in de-
veloping recently established colonies, for which
they had neither the necessary perseverance nor
the ability. Colonies had gradually been formed on
the lower Dnieper and the northern shore of the
Black Sea, by runaway Polish serfs, criminals, ad-
venturers from every province, peasants, and nobles,
who felt themselves cramped and endangered in
their homes. These outcasts formed the root of the
Cossack race at the waterfalls of the Dnieper
(Za-Porogi), whence the Cossacks obtained the name
of Zaporogians. To maintain themselves, they took
to plundering the neighboring Tartars. They be-
came inured to war, and with every success their
courage and independent spirit increased.

The kings, who needed the Cossacks in military
undertakings and to ward off the inroads of Tartars
and Turks, granted them some independence in the
Ukraine and Little Russia, and appointed a chief-
tain over them from their own midst, an Attaman,
or Hetman, with special marks of dignity. But the
bigoted temper of King Sigismund III and the
Jesuits made the Cossacks, who might have become
an element of strength for Poland, the source of
endless discontent and rebellion. The Zaporogians
for the most part were adherents of the Greek
Church, the Greek Catholic confession being pre-

CH. I. " SYNOD OF THE FOUR COUNTRIES." 3

dominant in southern Poland. After the popes
by means of the Jesuits had weakened and oppress-
ed the Polish dissidents, they labored to unite the
Greek Catholics with the Romish Church or to ex-
tirpate them. With the warlike spirit of the Cos-
sacks this change was not easy ; hence a regular
system of enslavement was employed against them.
Three noble houses, the Koniecpolski, Vishnioviecki,
and Potocki, had control of colonization in the
Ukraine and Little Russia, and they transferred to
their Jewish business agents the farming of the
oppressive imposts falling on the Cossacks. Thus
Jewish communities gradually spread in the Ukraine,
Little Russia, and even beyond these provinces.
The Cossacks, for instance, had to pay a tax at the
birth of a child and on every marriage. That there
might be no evasion, the Jewish revenue farmers
had the keys of the Greek churches, and when the
clergyman wished to perform a baptism or a mar-
riage, he was obliged to ask them for the key. In
general, the position of the Jews in districts where
none but Poles dwelt was better than in those which
besides Polish inhabitants contained a German pop-
ulation, as was the case in the large cities, Posen,
Cracow, Lublin, and Lemberg.

P>y reason of their great number, their import-
ance, and their compact union, the Jews in Poland
formed a state within a state. The general
synod, which assembled twice a year at Lublin and
Jaroslaw, formed a legislative and judicial parlia-
ment from which there was no appeal. At first
called the Synod of the Three Countries, it became
in the first quarter of the seventeenth century the
Synod of the Four Countries (Vaad Arba Arazoth).
An elective president (Parnes di Arba Arazoth)
was at the head, and conducted public affairs. The
communities and rabbis had civil, and, to a certain
extent, criminal, jurisdiction, at least against inform-
ers and traitors. Hence no Jew ventured to bring

4 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

an accusation against one of his race before the au-
thorities of the country, fearing to expose himself
to disgrace and contempt from public opinion, which
would have embittered his life, or even entailed
death. Almost every community had its college of
judges, a rabbi with two assessors, before whom
every complaint was brought, but the final de-
cision rested with the synod. The synod also con-
cerned itself about honesty in dealing and conduct,
and in weight and measure, wherever Jews were
affected.

The study of the Talmud in Poland, established
by Shachna, Solomon Lurya, and Moses Isserles,
reached a pitch attained at no previous time, nor in
any other country. The demand for copies of the
Talmud was so great that in less than twenty years
three editions had to be printed, no doubt in thou-
sands of copies. The study of the Talmud was a
greater necessity in Poland than in the rest of
Europe. The rabbis, as has been already said, had
jurisdiction of their own, and decided according to
Talmudical and Rabbinical laws. The great num-
ber of Jews in Poland, and their fondness for litiga-
tion, gave occasion to intricate law cases. The
rabbi-judges were obliged to go back to the
source of law, the Talmud, to seek points of sup-
port for such cases. The contending parties being
themselves well informed and acute, the reasoning
of the rabbis had to be flawless to escape criticism.
Hence Rabbinical civil law in Poland met with extra-
ordinary cultivation and extension, to adapt it to all
cases and make it available for the learned liti-
gants. Thus the ever-growing subtlety of the
method of Talmud study depended on current con-
ditions and wants, and on the circumstance that each
Talmudist wished to surpass all others in ingenuity.

It would be tedious to enumerate the Rabbinical
authors of Poland in the first half of the seventeenth
century. The cultivation of a single faculty, that of

CH. I. STUDY OF THE TALMUD IN POLAND. 5

hair-splitting judgment, at the cost of the rest, nar-
rowed the imagination, hence not a single literary
product appeared in Poland deserving the name of
poetry. All the productions of the Polish school
bore the Talmudical stamp, as the school regarded
everything from the Talmudical point of view. The
disciples of this school looked down almost with
contempt on Scripture and its simple grandeur, or
rather it did not exist for them. How, indeed,
could they have found time to occupy themselves
with it ? And what could they do with these chil-
dren's stories, which did not admit the application
of intellectual subtlety ? They knew something of
the Bible from the extracts read in the synagogues,
and those occasionally quoted in the Talmud. The
faculty for appreciating the sublimity of biblical doc-
trines and characters, as well as simplicity and ele-
vation in general, was denied them. A love of
twisting, distorting, ingenious quibbling, and a fore-
gone antipathy to what did not lie within their field
of vision, constituted the character of the Polish
Jews. Pride in their knowledge of the Talmud and
a spirit of dogmatism attached even to the best
rabbis, and undermined their moral sense. The
Polish Jews of course were extraordinarily pious, but
even their piety rested on sophistry and boastful-
ness. Each wished to surpass the other in knowl-
edge of what the Code prescribed for one case or
another. Thus religion sank, not merely, as among
Jews of other countries, to a mechanical, unintelli-
gent ceremonial, but to a subtle art of interpreta-
tion. To know better was everything to them ; but
to act according to acknowledged principles of re-
ligious purity, and exemplify them in a moral life,
occurred to but few. Integrity and right-minded-
ness they had lost as completely as simplicity and
the sense of truth. The vulgar acquired the quib-
bling method of the schools, and employed it to
outwit the less cunning. They found pleasure and

6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

a sort of triumphant delight in deception and cheat-
ing. Against members of their own race cunning
could not well be employed, because they were
sharp-witted ; but the non-Jewish world with which
they came into contact experienced to its disadvan-
tage the superiority of the Talmudical spirit of the
Polish Jews. The Polish sons of the Talmud paid
little attention to the fact, that the Talmud and the
great teachers of Judaism object even more strongly
to takino- advantage of members of a different faith

O c!>

than of those of their own race.

The corruption of the Polish Jews was avenged
upon them in a terrible way, and the result was,
that the rest of the Jews in Europe were for a time
infected with it. With fatal blindness Polish Jews
offered the nobility and the Jesuits a helping hand
in oppressing the Zaporogian Cossacks in the
Ukraine and Little Russia. The magnates wished
to make profitable serfs of the Cossacks, the Jesuits
hoped to convert the Greek heretics into Roman
Catholics, the Jews settled in the district expected
to enrich themselves and play the lord over these
pariahs. They advised the possessors of the Cos-
sack colonies how most completely to humiliate, op-
press, torment, and ill-use them ; they usurped the
office of judges over them, and vexed them in their
ecclesiastical affairs. No wonder that the enslaved
Cossacks hated the Jews, with whom their relations
were closest, almost more than their noble and
clerical foes. The Jews were not without warning
what would be their lot, if these embittered enemies
once got the upper hand. In an insurrection of the
Zaporogians under their Hetman in about 1638,
despite its brief duration, they slew 200 Jews, and
destroyed several synagogues. Nevertheless, Jews
lent a hand, when in consequence of the insurrec-
tion the further enslavement of the sufferers was
determined upon. In the year 1648, fixed by that
lying book, the Zohar, they expected the coming of

CH. I. BOGDAN CHMIELNICKI. 7

the Messiah and the time of redemption, when they
would be in power, and, therefore, they were more
reckless and careless than was their custom at other
times. Bloody retribution was not long delayed,
and struck the innocent with the guilty, perhaps the
former more severely than the latter.

It proceeded from a man who understood how to
make use of the increasing hatred of the Cossacks
for his purposes, and who was regarded by his
countrymen as their ideal. Bogdan Chmielnicki
(Russian Chmel), born about 1595, died 1657, be-
fore whom all Poland trembled for several years,
gave Russia the first opportunity of interfering in
the Polish republic, and was a frightful scourge for
the Jews. Chmielnicki, brave in war and artful in
the execution of his plans, impenetrable in his
schemes, at once cruel and hypocritical, had been
vexed by Jews, when he held the subordinate posi-
tion of camp secretary (Pisar) of the Cossacks sub-
ject to the house of Koniecpolski. A Jew, Zacha-
riah Sabilenki, had played him a trick, by which he
was robbed of his wife and property. Another had
betrayed him when he had come to an understand-
ing with the Tartars. Besides injuries which his
race had sustained from Jewish tax farmers in the
Ukraine, he, therefore, had personal wrongs to
avenge. His remark to the Cossacks, " The Poles
have delivered us as slaves to the cursed breed
of Jews," was enough to excite them. Vengeance-
breathing Zaporogians and booty-loving Tartars
in a short time put the Polish troops to flight
by successful manoeuvres (May 18, 1648). Potocki,
the lieutenant-general, and 8,000 Poles, according
to agreement, were delivered to the Tartars. After
the victory, the wild troops went eastward from the
Dnieper, between Kiev and Pultava, plundering
and murdering, especially the Jews who had not
taken flight ; the number of the murdered reached
several thousand. Hundreds underwent baptism

8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

in the Greek Church, and pretended to be Chris-
tians, in order to save themselves. Fortunate were
those who fell into captivity with the Tartars ; they
were transported to the Crimea, and ransomed by
Turkish Jews. Four Jewish communities (Porobischa
and others) of about 3,000 souls resolved to escape
massacre by surrendering to the Tartars with all
their property. They were well treated, and sold
into Turkey, where they were ransomed in a brother-
ly manner by those of their own race. The Con-
stantinople community sent a deputy to Holland to
collect money from the rich communities for the
ransom of captives.

Unfortunately for the Poles and Jews, King
Vladislav, for whom Chmielnicki had shown some
respect, was removed by death. During the inter-
regnum of several months, from May to October,
1648, the usual Polish dissension occurred, which
crippled every attempt at resistance. At first
Chmielnicki drew back, apparently inclined to ne-
gotiate with the crown, but he gave his creatures
full power to ravage the Polish provinces. Regular
troops of murderers, called Haidamaks (the Tartar
word for partisans), were formed under brutal
leaders who cared not a straw for human life, and
who reveled in the death-struggles of their Polish
and Jewish foes. In the name of religion they were
urged by the Greek popes to murder Catholics and
Jews. The commander of each troop had his own
method of exercising cruelty. One had thongs
slung round the necks of Catholic and Jewish
women, by which they were dragged along ; this he
called " presenting them with a red ribbon." A few
weeks after the first victory of the Cossacks, a
troop under another of these chiefs advanced
against the stronghold of Nemirov, where 6,000
Jews, -inhabitants and fugitives from the neighbor-
hood, had assembled ; they were in possession of
the fortress, and closed the gates. But the Cos-

CH. I. THE HAIDAMAKS. 9

sacks had an understanding with the Greek Chris-
tians in the town, and put on Polish uniforms in
order to be taken for Poles. The Christian inhabi-
tants urged the Jews to open the gates for their
friends. They did so, and were suddenly attacked
by the Cossacks and the inhabitants of the town,
and almost entirely cut down amid frightful tortures
(Siwan 20 — June 10, 1648).

Another Haidamak troop under Kryvonoss at-
tacked the town of Tulczyn, where about 600 Chris-
tians ?nd 2,000 Jews had taken refuge in the for-
tress. There were brave Jews among them, or
necessity had made them brave, and they would not
die without resistance. Nobles and Jews swore to
defend the town and fortress to the last man. As
the Cossack peasants understood nothing of the art
of siege, and had repeatedly suffered severely from
the sorties of Jews and Poles, they resorted to a
trick. They assured the nobles that their rage was
directed only against the Jews, their deadly foes ; if
these were delivered up, they would withdraw. The
infatuated nobles, forgetful of their oath, proposed
that the jews should deliver up their arms to them.
The Jews at first thought of turning on the Poles
for their treachery, as they exceeded them in num-
bers. But the rabbi of Tulczyn warned them
against attacking the Poles, who would inflict bloody
vengeance, and all Poland would be excited against
the J ews, who would be exterminated. He implored
them to sacrifice themselves for their brethren in
the whole country ; perhaps the Cossacks would
accept their property as ransom. The Jews con-
sented, and delivered up their arms, the Poles there-
upon admitting the troops into the town. After the
latter had taken everything from the Jews, they set
before them the choice of death or baptism. Not
one of them would purchase life at that price ; about
1,500 were tortured and executed before the eyes
of the Polish nobles (Tamuz 4 — June 24). The

IO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

Cossacks left ten rabbis alive, in order to extort
laree sums from the communities. The Poles were

^>

immediately punished for their treachery. Depriv-
ed of the assistance of the Jews, they were attacked
by the Cossacks and slain, proving that violators of
their word cannot reckon on fidelity towards them-
selves. This sad event had the good effect that the
Poles always sided with the Jews, and were not op-
posed to them in the course of the long war.

At the same time another Haidamak troop, under
a leader named Hodki, had penetrated into Little
Russia, and caused dreadful slaughter in the com-
munities of Homel, Starodub, Czernigov, and other
places east and north of Kiev. The Jews of Homel
are said to have suffered martyrdom most firmly,
on the same day on which the Tulczyn commu-
nity was annihilated. The leader of the troop had
all the Jews of Homel, inhabitants as well as fugi-
tives, stripped outside the town, and surrounded by
Cossacks, and called upon them to be baptized or
to expect a most frightful death. They all, men,
women, and children, to the number of about 1,500,
preferred death.

Prince Vishnioviecki, the only heroic figure
amongst the Poles at that time, a man of penetra-
tion, intrepid courage, and strategic ability, defended
the cause of the persecuted Jews with devoted zeal.
He took the fugitives under the protecting wings of
his small, but brave force, with which he everywhere
pursued the Cossack bands to destruction. But,
because of his limited power, he could accomplish
nothing of lasting import. Through petty jealousy,
he was passed over at the election of the com-
mander-in-chief against the Cossack insurrection,
and instead of him three were chosen, of a character
calculated to help on Chmielnicki to further victories.

Annoyed at the pitiful policy of the regent, the
primate of Gnesen, Vishnioviecki followed his own
course, but was compelled to retreat before the

CH. I. PRINCE VISHNIOVIECKI. II

overpowering number of the roving troops and the
Greek Catholic population in sympathy with them,
and so destruction was brought on the Jews, who
had reckoned on his heroic courage. In the fortress
of Polonnoie, between Zaslav and Zytomir, 10,000
Jews, partly inhabitants, partly fugitives from the
neighborhood, are said to have perished at the hand
of the besieging Haidamaks and the traitorous in-
habitants (Ab 13 — July 22).

The unfortunate issue of the second war between
Poles and Cossacks (September, 1648), when the
Polish army, more through dread of the Tartars
under Tugai Bey and the incapacity of its generals,
than through Chmielnicki's bravery, was scattered
in wild flight, and collected only behind the walls of
Lemberg, prepared a bloody fate even for Jews who
thought themselves safe at a distance from the field
of battle. There was no escape from the wild as-
saults of the Zaporogians, unless they could reach
the Wallachian borders. The blood of slaughtered
and maltreated Jews marked the vast tract from the
southern part of the Ukraine to Lemberg by way of
Dubno and Brody ; in the town of Bar alone from
two to three thousand perished. It scarcely need
be said that the brutal cruelty of the regular Cos-
sacks, as well as of the wild Haidamaks, made no
distinction between Rabbanites and Karaites. The
important community of Lemberg lost many of its
members through hunger and pestilence, and its
property besides, which it had to pay to the Cos-
sacks as ransom.

In the town of Narol the Zaporogians caused a
revolting butchery. It is said that in the beginning
of November 45,000 persons, among them 12,000
Jews, were slain there with the cruellest tortures.
Among the corpses remained living women and
children, who for several days had to feed on human
flesh. Meanwhile the Haidamaks roamed about in
Volhynia, Podolia, and West Russia, and slaked

12 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

their revenge in the blood of nobles, Catholics,
clergy, and Jews, to thousands and tens of thous-
ands. In Crzemieniec an inhuman monster slew
hundreds of Jewish children, scornfully examined
the corpses as Jews do with cattle, and threw them
to the dogs. In many towns Jews, as well as Cath-
olics, armed themselves, and drove the bloodthirsty
Cossacks away.

The election of a king, which finally was effected —
and, though the Polish state was on the brink of an
abyss, it took place amidst fights and commotions —
put an end to bloodshed for the moment. Although
for the most part in a drunken condition, Chmiel-
nicki retained sobriety enough to dictate, among
his conditions of peace, that no Catholic church
should be tolerated, nor any Jew live, in the Cos-
sack provinces. The commission, unable to accept
the conditions, departed without settling the busi-
ness (February 16, 1649). The Jews, who had
reckoned upon a settlement, and returned to their
home, paid for their confidence with death, for the
Cossacks surrounded the towns with death-cries.
Thus, a second time, many Jews and nobles per-
ished at Ostrog (March 4, 1649).

The breakingf off of the negotiation with Chmiel-

*^y £j

nicki led to a third encounter. Although the Polish
army this time appeared better armed on the field of
battle, it had as little success as before. In the battle
at Sbaraz it would have been completely destroyed by
the Zaporogians and Tartars, if the king had not
wisely come to an understanding with the Tartar
chief. Thereupon followed the peace (August,
1649), which confirmed Chmielnicki's programme,
among other points that concerning the Jews. In
the chief seats of the Cossacks (i. e., in the Ukraine,
West Russia, in the district of Kiev, and a part of
Podolia) they could neither own or rent landed
estates, nor live there.

In consequence of this convention, the Poles and

CH. I. CONVERTS RETURN TO JUDAISM. 13

Jews were unmolested for about a year and a half,
although on both sides schemes were harbored to
break the agreement at the first opportunity. As
far as residence was allowed them, the fugitive Jews
returned to their homes. King John Casimir allowed
the Jews baptized according to the Greek confession
openly to profess Judaism. In consequence, the
baptized Jews fled from the Catholic districts to
Poland to be free from compulsory Christianity.
This permission was especially used by Jewish
women whom the rude Zaporogians had married.
The Jews brought back into Judaism many hundreds
of children, who had lost their parents and relatives,
and had been brought up in Christianity, investigated
their descent, and hung the indication of it in a small
roll round their necks, that they might not marry
blood relations of forbidden degrees. The general
synod of rabbis and leaders which assembled at
Lublin in 1650 occupied itself entirely with the
attempt to heal, at least partially, the wounds of
Judaism. Many hundreds, even thousands, of Jew-
ish women did not know whether their husbands
lay in the grave, or were begging in the East or
West, in Turkey or Germany, whether they were
widows or wives, or they found themselves in other
perplexities created by the Rabbinical law. The
synod of Lublin is said to have hit upon excellent
arrangements. Most probably the lenient Lipmann
Heller, then rabbi of Cracow, strove to effect a
mild interpretation of the law relating to supposed
death. At the instigation of the young, genial
rabbi Sabbatai Cohen (Shach), the day of the first
massacre at Nemirov (Siwan 20) was appointed as
a general fast day for the remnant of the Polish
community. The hoary Lipmann Heller, at Cracow,
Sabbatai Hurwitz, at Posen, and the young Sabbatai
Cohen drew up penitential prayers (Selichoth),
mostly selected from older pieces, for this sad memo-
rial day.

14 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

After a pause of a year and a half, the war
between Cossacks and Poles broke out in the
early part of the year 1651, the first victims again
being Jews, as Chmielnicki and the wild Zaporo-
gians now fell upon the Polish territory where Jew-
ish communities had again settled. The massacre,
however, could not be so extensive as before ; there
no longer were thousands of Jews to slaughter.
Moreover the evil days had inspired the Jews with
courage ; they armed a troop of Jewish soldiers, and
enlisted them in the king's service. The fortune of
war turned against the Cossacks, and they were
obliged to accept the peace dictated by the king
(November n, 1651). John Casimir and his minis-
ters did not forget to guard the rights of the Jews
in the treaty. They were to be permitted to settle
anywhere in the Ukraine, and to hold property on
lease.

This treaty also was concluded and ratified only
to be broken. Chmielnicki had accepted it to
strengthen himself and restore his reputation with
the Cossacks. As soon as he had gained his first
object, he began hostilities against the Poles, from
which Jews always suffered most severely. In two
years after the first insurrection of the Zaporogians,
more than 300 communities were completely des-
troyed by death or flight, and the end of
their suffering had not yet arrived. The Polish
troops could not withstand the violent attacks
or skillful policy of Chmielnicki. When he could no
longer hope for help from the Tartars, he combined
with the Russians, and incited them to a war against
unhappy Poland, divided against itself. In conse-
quence of the Russian war in the early part of 1654
and 1655, those communities suffered which had
been spared by the Cossack swarms, i. e., the western
districts and Lithuania. The community of Wilna,
one of the largest, was completely depopulated (July,
1655) by slaughter on the part of the Russians and

CH. I. WARS IN POLAND. 15

by migration. As if fate were then determining
upon the partition of Poland, a new enemy was
added to the Cossacks and Russians in Charles X
of Sweden, who used Poland as the first available
pretext to slake his thirst for war. Through the
Swedish war, the communities of Great and Little
Poland, from Posen to Cracow, were reduced to
want and despair. The Jews of Poland had to drink
the cup of poison to the dregs. The Polish general,
Czarnicki, who hated the Jews, ill-used those spared
by Cossacks, Russians, and the wild Swedes of the
Thirty Years' War, under the pretense that they
had a traitorous understanding; with the Swedes. The

^j

Poles also behaved barbarously to the Jews, destroyed
the synagogues, and tore up the holy scriptures.
All Poland was like a bloody field of battle, on which
Cossacks, Russians, Prussians, Swedes, and the
troops of Prince Ragoczi of Transylvania wrestled ;
the Jews were ill-used or slain by all. Only the
Great Elector of Brandenburg behaved leniently to-
wards them. The number of Jewish families said to
have perished in ten years of this war (600,000) is
certainly exaggerated, but the slaughtered Jews of
Poland may well be rated at a quarter of a million.
With the decline of Poland as a power of the first
rank, the importance of Polish Judaism diminished.
The remnant were impoverished, depressed, and
could not recover their former position. Their
need was so great, that those who drifted to the
neighborhood of Prussia hired themselves to Chris-
tians as day laborers for field work.

As at the time of the expulsion of the Jews from
Spain and Portugal every place was filled with
fugitive Sephardic Jews, so during the Cossack-
Polish war fugitive Polish Jews, wretched in appear-
ance, with hollow eyes, who had escaped the sword,
the flames, hunger, and pestilence ; or who,
dragged by the Tartars into captivity, had
been ransomed by their brethren, were seek-

l6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I.

ing shelter everywhere. Westwards, by way of
Dantzic and through the Vistula district, Jewish-
Polish fugitives wandered to Amsterdam, and were
forwarded thence to Frankfort-on-the-Main and
other Rhenish cities. Three thousand Lithuanian
Jews came to Texel in the Netherlands, and were hos-
pitably received. Southwards many fled to Mora-
via, Bohemia, Austria, and Hungary, and wander-
ed from those places to Italy. The prisoners
in the armies of the Tartars came to the Turk-
ish provinces, and some of them drifted to
Barbary. Everywhere they were received by their
brethren with great cordiality and love, cared for,
clothed, and supported. The Italian Jews ransomed
and supported them at great sacrifice. Thus, the
community of Leghorn at this time formed a resolu-
tion to collect and spend a quarter of their income
for the liberation and maintenance of the unfortunate
Polish Jews. The German and Austrian communi-
ties, also, although they had suffered under the
calamities of the Thirty Years' War, exercised that
brotherly feeling which they rarely professed with
their lips, but cherished the more deeply in their
hearts.

The number and misery of those escaped from
Poland were so great, that the German communities
and probably others were obliged to devote the
money intended for Jerusalem to the maintenance
of Polish Jews. The Jews of Jerusalem dependent
on alms, who were drained by the pasha and his
subordinates, felt the want of their regular support
from Europe. They soon fell into such distress,
that of the 700 widows and a smaller number of
men living there nearly 400 are said to have died
of hunger.

The Cossack persecution of the Jews, in a sense,
remodeled Judaism. It became Polonized, so to
speak. The Polish-Rabbinical method of study had
long dominated the Talmudical schools of Germany

CH. I. THE POLISH-JEWISH FUGITIVES. I?

and Italy through the abundant literature by Polish
authors. Now, through the fugitives, most of whom
were Talmudical scholars, it became authoritative.
Rabbinical appointments were mostly conferred on
Polish Talmudists, as in Moravia, Amsterdam,
Fiirth, Frankfort, and Metz. On account of their
superiority in their department, these Polish Tal-
mudists were as proud as the Spanish and Portu-
guese fugitives had been, and looked down with
contempt on the rabbis who spoke German, Portu-
guese, and Italian. Far from giving up their own
method in a foreign country, they demanded that
all the world should be regulated by them, and they
gained their point. People joked about the "Pol-
acks," but nevertheless became subordinate to
them. Whoever wished to acquire thorough Tal-
mudic and Rabbinical knowledge was obliged to sit
at the feet of Polish rabbis ; every father of a family
who wished to educate his children in the Talmud
sought a Polish rabbi for them. These Polish rabbis
gradually forced their sophistical piety upon the
German, and partly on the Portuguese, and Italian,
communities. Through their influence, scientific
knowledge and the study of the Bible declined still
more than previously. In the century of Descartes
and Spinoza, when the three Christian nations, the
French, English, and Dutch, gave the death-blow to
the Middle Ages, Jewish-Polish emigrants, baited
by Chmielnicki's bands, brought a new middle age
over European Judaism, which maintained itself in
full vigor for more than a century, to some extent
lasting to our time.

CHAPTER II.

SETTLEMENT OF THE JEWS IN ENGLAND AND MANASSEH

BEN ISRAEL.

Obstacles to the Resettlement of Jews in England — Manasseh ben
Israel— His Character and Attainments— Christian Students of
Jewish Literature: Scaliger, the Buxtorfs, Selden, and Vossius—
Women devote themselves to Hebrew — The Fifth-Monarchy
Men : Expectation of the Millennium — Enthusiastic Friends of
the Jews— The Puritans — Cromwell and Holmes— Nicholas' Pro-
tection of the Jews— "The Hope of Israel"— Fresh Victims of
the Inquisition— Manasseh ben Israel's Negotiations with the
English Parliament — He journeys to London, and is graciously
received by Cromwell — A Council sits at Whitehall to decide the
Question of the Re-admission of the Jews— Prynne's anti-Jewish
Work — Controversial Pamphlets — Manasseh's "Vindication" —
The Re-admission of the Jews connived at.

1655—1657 c. E.

AT the very time when the Jews of Poland were
trodden down, slaughtered, or driven through
Europe like terrified wild beasts, a land of freedom
was opened, from which the Jews had been banished
for more than three centuries and a half. England,
which the wise queen Elizabeth and the brave Crom-
well had raised to be the first power in Europe, a
position very different from that of crumbling
Poland, again admitted Jews, not indeed through
the great portal, yet through the back door. But
this admission was so bruited abroad, that it was
like a triumph for Judaism. The Jews of Amster-
dam and Hamburg looked with longing to this
island, to which they were so near, with whose mer-
chants, shipowners, and scholars they were in con-
nection, and which promised wide scope for the
exercise of their varied abilities. But settlement
there seemed beset with insuperable obstacles. The
English episcopal church, which exercised sway over

18

CH. II. RESETTLEMENT OF JEWS IN ENGLAND. 19

the English conscience, was even more intolerant
than the popery which it persecuted. Not granting
freedom to Catholics and Dissenters, would it toler-
ate the descendants of those aspersed in the New
Testament? The English people, who for centu-
ries had seen no Jew, shared to the full the
antipathy of the clergy. To them every Jew was a
Shylock, who, with hearty goodwill, would cut a
Christian to pieces — a monster in human form, bear-
ing the mark of Cain. Who would undertake to
banish this strong prejudice in order to render
people and rulers favorable to the descendants of
Israel ?

The man who undertook and executed this dif-
ficult task did not belong to the first rank of intel-
lectual men, but possessed the right measure of
insight and narrowness, strength of will and flexi-
bility, knowledge and imagination, self-denial and
vanity, required for so arduous an undertaking.
Manasseh ben Israel, second or third rabbi at
Amsterdam, who at home played only a subordi-
nate part, the poor preacher who, to support his
family, was obliged to resort to printing, but ob-
tained so little profit from it, that he wished to
exchange pulpit oratory for mercantile speculation,
and was near settling in Brazil ; he it was who won
England for Judaism, and, if he did not banish,
diminished the prejudice against his race. To him
belongs the credit for a service not to be lightly
estimated, for there were but few to help him. The
release of the Jews from their thousand years' con-
tempt and depreciation in European society, or
rather the struggle for civil equality, begins with
Manasseh ben Israel. He was the Riesser of the
seventeenth century. As has been stated, he was
not in the true sense great, and can only be
reckoned a man of mediocrity. He belonged to the
happily constituted class of persons, who do not
perceive the harsh contrasts and shrill discords in

2O HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

the world around, hence are confiding and enter-
prising. His heart was deeper than his mind. His
power rested in his easy eloquence, his facility in
explaining and working out ideas which lay within
his narrow field of vision, and which he had acquired
rather than produced. Manasseh ben Israel had
complete grasp of Jewish literature, and knew the
Christian theology of his time, and what was to be
said on each point, i. e., what had been said by his
predecessors. On the other hand, he had only a
superficial knowledge of those branches of learning
which require keenness of intellect, such as philo-
sophy and the Talmud. His strength was in one
respect his weakness. His facility in speaking and
writing encouraged a verbose style and excessive
productiveness. He left more than 400 sermons in
Portuguese, and a mass of writings that fill a
catalogue, but discuss their subjects only super-
ficially. Manasseh's contemporaries looked upon
his writings with different eyes. The learning
amassed therein from all literatures and languages,
and the smoothness of form riveted their attention,
and excited their admiration. Among Jews he was
extraordinarily celebrated ; whoever could produce
Latin, Portuguese, or Spanish verse, made known
his praise. But even Christian scholars of his time
over-estimated him.

In Holland, which, by the concurrence of many
circumstances, and especially through the powerful
impulse of Joseph Scaliger, the prince of philologists,
had become in a sense the school of Europe, the
foundation was laid in the seventeenth century for
the wonderful learning contained in voluminous
folios. At no time had there been so many philolo-
gists with early-matured learning, iron memory, and
wonderful devotion to the science of language, as in
the first half of the seventeenth century, which
seems to have been specially appointed to revive
what had so long been neglected. All the literary

CH. II. CHRISTIAN STUDENTS OF HEBREW. 21

treasures of antiquity were collected and utilized ;
statesmen vied with professional scholars. In this
gigantic collection there was little critical search for
truth ; the chief consideration was the number of
scientific facts gathered. The ambition of many was
spurred on to understand the three favored lan-
guages of antiquity — Greek, Latin, and Hebrew —
and their literatures. Hebrew, the language of
religion, enjoyed special preference, and whoever
understood it as well as the other two tongues was
sure of distinction. Joseph Scaliger, the oracle of
Dutch and Protestant theology, had given to Rabbin-
ical literature, so-called, a place in the republic of
letters beside the Hebrew language, and even the
Talmud he treated with a certain amount of respect.
His Dutch, French, and English disciples followed
his example, and devoted themselves with zeal to
this branch of knowledge, formerly regarded with
contempt or even aversion.

John Buxtorf, senior (born 1564, died 1639), of
Basle, may be said to have been master of Hebrew
and Rabbinical literature, and he rendered them
accessible to Christian circles. He carried on a
lively correspondence in Hebrew with Jewish
scholars in Amsterdam, Germany, and Constanti-
nople. Even ladies devoted themselves to Hebrew
language and literature. That prodigy, Anna Maria
Schurmann.of Utrecht,who knew almost all European
languages and their literature, corresponded in He-
brew with scholars, and also with an English lady,
Dorothea Moore, and quoted Rashi and Ibn Ezra
with a scholar's accuracy. The eccentric queen
Christina of Sweden, the learned daughter of Gus-
tavus Adolphus, understood Hebrew. Statesmen,
such as Hugo Grotius, and the Englishman John
Selden, seriously and deeply engaged in its pursuit
for their theological or historical studies.

But Christian scholars, with all their zeal, had not
yet acquired independence in Rabbinical literature ;

22 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

without a Jewish guide, they could not move, or felt
unsafe. To Christian inquirers, therefore, Manas-
seh ben Israel's treatises, which presented many
Rabbinical passages and new points of view, were
highly welcome. Much of the Talmudic literature
became accessible through his clear exposition.
Hence, Dutch scholars sought out Manasseh,
courted his friendship, fairly hung upon his lips, and
gradually discarded prejudice against Jews, which
even the most liberal-minded men in the most tol-
erant country of Europe had not laid aside. Ma-
nasseh was joined particularly by those eager
inquirers who were persecuted or declared heretics
by the ruling church. The learned Vossius family,
even John Gerard Vossius, senior, although filled
with strong hatred against Jews, was affable to
Manasseh. His son, Dionysius Vossius, a prodigy
of learning, snatched a way by death in his eighteenth
year, on his death-bed translated into Latin Manas-
seh's "Reconciler" (Conciliador) shortly after its
appearance. Isaac Vossius, the youngest son, who
filled an honorable office under the queen of Sweden,
recommended Manasseh ben Israel to her. By this
family he was made acquainted with the learned
statesman Hugo Grotius, who also received in-
struction from him. The chief of the Arminians,
Simon Episcopius, sought intercourse with Manas-
seh, as did Caspar Barlaeus, who as a Socinian,
2. e., a denier of the Trinity, was avoided by orthodox
Christians. He attached himself to Manasseh, and
sang his praise in Latin verses, on which account he
was attacked yet more violently, because he had put
the Jewish faith on an equality with the Christian.
The learned Jesuit Peter Daniel Huet also culti-
vated his friendship. Gradually the Chacham and
preacher of Amsterdam acquired such a reputation
among Christians, that every scholar traveling
through that city sought him out as an extraordi-
nary personage. Foreigners exchanged letters

CH. II. FIFTH MONARCHY EXPECTATIONS. 2$

with him, and obtained from him explanations on
difficult points. Manasseh had an interview with
Queen Christina of Sweden, which stimulated her
kindness for the Jews, and her liking for Jewish
literature. So highly did many Christians rate
Manasseh ben Israel, that they could not suppress
the wish to see so learned and excellent a rabbi
won over to Christianity.

Most of all Christian visionaries, who dreamt of
the coming of the Fifth Monarchy, the reign of the
saints (in the language of Daniel), crowded round
Manasseh ben Israel. The Thirty Years' War
which had delivered property and life over to wild
soldiers, the tyrannical oppression of believers
struggling for inward freedom and morality — in
England by the bishops and the secular govern-
ment, in France by the despotic Richelieu — awak-
ened in visionaries the idea that the Messianic
millennium, announced in the book of Daniel and
the Apocalypse, was near, and that their sufferings
were only the forerunners of the time of grace.
These fantastic visionaries showed themselves
favorable to the Jews; they wished this great
change to be effected with the participation of those
to whom the announcement had first been made.
They conceded that the Jews must first take pos-
session of the Holy Land, which could not easily be
accomplished, even by a miracle. For, the lost
Ten Tribes must first be found, and gathered to-
gether, if the prophetic words were" not to fall to
the ground. The tribes assembled to take posses-
sion of the Holy Land must have their Messiah, a
shoot out of the stem of Jesse. But what would
become of Jesus, the Christ, i. e., Messiah, in whom
Jews could not be made to believe ? Some of the
Fifth Monarchy visionaries conceded to Jews a
Messiah of their own, in the expectation that the
struggle for precedence between the Jewish and the
Christian saviour would decide itself.

24 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

Such apocalyptic dreams struck a responsive
chord in Manasseh ben Israel's heart. He also ex-
pected, not the reign of the saints, but, according to
Kabbalistic reckoning, the speedy advent of the
Messianic time. The Zohar, the book revered by
him as divine, announced in unambiguous terms,
that Israel's time of grace would begin with the year
5408 of the world (1648). Manasseh in his inner-
most being was a mystic, his classical and literary
education being only external varnish, not diminish-
ing his belief in miracles. Hence he was pleased
with the letter of a Christian visionary of Dantzic,
expressing belief in the restoration of the glory of
the Jews. John Mochinger, of the old Tyrolese
nobility, who had fallen into the whirlpool of mysti-
cism, wrote to Manasseh ben Israel in the midst of
an eulogium on his learning : " Know and be con-
vinced that I duly honor your doctrines, and to-
gether with some of my brethren in the faith, ear-
nestly desire that Israel may be enlightened with
the true light, and enjoy its ancient renown and
happiness." At a later period another German
mystic of Dantzic established relations with the
Kabbalistic Chacham of Amsterdam— viz., Abra-
ham von Frankenberg, a nobleman, and a disciple
of Jacob Bohme. He openly said : "The true light
will come from the Jews ; their time is not far off.
From day to day news will be heard from different
places of wonderful things come to pass in their
favor, and all the islands shall rejoice with them."
In daily intercourse with Manasseh were two Chris-
tian friends, Henry Jesse and Peter Serrarius, who
were enthusiasts in the cause of Israel's restoration.
In France, in the service of the great Conde, there
was a peculiar visionary, Isaac La Peyrere of Bor-
deaux, a Huguenot, perhaps of Jewish-Marrano
blood. He had the strange notion that there were
men before Adam (pre-Aclamites), from whom all
men except the Jews were descended. In a book

CH. II. THE PURITANS. 2$

on the subject, which brought him to the dungeon
of the Inquisition, he attached great importance to
the Jews. In another work on " The Return of the
Jews," he maintained that the Jews ought to be re-
called from their dispersion in all parts of the world,
to effect a speedy return to the Holy Land. The
king of France, the eldest son of the Church, has
the duty to bring about this return of the eldest son
of God. He, too, entered into communication with
Manasseh.

The greatest number of ardent admirers " God's
people" found in England, precisely among those
who had powerful influence in the council and the
camp. At the time when the Germans were fight-
ing each other on account of difference of creed,
invoking the interference of foreigners, and impair-
ing their own freedom and power, England was
gaining what could never be taken away, religious
and, at the same time, political freedom, and this
made it a most powerful and prosperous country.
In Germany the religious parties, Catholics, Luth-
erans, and Calvinists, in selfish blindness demanded
religious freedom each for itself alone, reserving
oppression and persecution for the others. These
internecine quarrels of the Germans were utilized
by the princes to confirm their own despotic power.
In England, the same selfishness prevailed among
the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Catholics, but
a fourth party arose whose motto was religious
freedom for all. The senseless despotism of
Charles I and the narrow-mindedness of the Long
Parliament had played into the hands of this intelli-
gent and powerful party. England, like Germany,
resembled a great blood-stained battle-field, but it
had produced men who knew what they wanted,
who staked their lives for it, and effected the rejuven-
escence of the nation. Oliver Cromwell was at once
the head which devised, and the arm which executed
sound ideas. By the sword he and his army ob-

26 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

tained religious freedom, not only for themselves,
but also for others. He and his officers were not
revengeful freebooters or blood-thirsty soldiers, but
high-minded, inspired warriors of God, who waged
war against wickedness and falseness, and hoped
for, and undertook to establish a moral system of
government, the kingdom of God. Like the Macca-
bees of old, the Puritan warriors fought " sword in
hand, and praise of God in their mouth." Cromwell
and his soldiers read the Bible as often as they
fouerht. But not out of the New Testament could

o>

the Roundheads derive inspiration and warlike cour-
age. The Christian Bible, with its monkish figures,
its exorcists, its praying brethren, and pietistic saints,
supplied no models for warriors contending with a
faithless king, a false aristocracy, and unholy priests.
Only the great heroes of the Old Testament, with
fear of God in their hearts and the sword in their
hands, at once religious and national champions,
could serve as models for the Puritans : the Judges,
freeing the oppressed people from the yoke of for-
eign domination ; Saul, David, and Joab, routing the
foes of their country; and Jehu, making an end of
an idolatrous and blasphemous royal house — these
were favorite characters with Puritan warriors. In
every verse of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel,
and Kings, they saw their own condition reflected ;
every psalm seemed composed for them, to teach
them that, though surrounded on every side by un-
godly foes, they need not fear while they trusted in
God. Oliver Cromwell compared himself to the
judge Gideon, who first obeyed the voice of God
hesitatingly, but afterwards courageously scattered
the attacking heathens ; or to Judas Maccabaeus,
who out of a handful of martyrs formed a host of
victorious warriors.

To bury oneself in the history, prophecy, and
poetry of the Old Testament, to revere them
as divine inspiration, to live in them with every

CH. II. THE PURITANS AND THE JEWS. 2J

emotion, yet not to consider the people who had
originated all this glory and greatness as pre-
ferred and chosen, was impossible. Among the
Puritans, therefore, were many earnest admirers of
" God's people," and Cromwell was one of them.
It seemed a marvel that the people, or a remnant of
the people, whom God had distinguished by great
favor and stern discipline, should still exist. A
desire was excited in the hearts of the Puritans to
see this living wonder, the Jewish people, with their
own eyes, to bring Jews to England, and, by making
them part of the theocratic community about to be
established, stamp it with the seal of completion.
The sentiments of the Puritans towards the Jews
were expressed in Oliver Cromwell's observation,
" Great is my sympathy with this poor people, whom
God chose, and to whom He gave His law ; it re-
jects Jesus, because it does not recognize him as the
Messiah." Cromwell dreamt of a reconciliation of
the Old and the New Testament, of an intimate
connection between the Jewish people of God and
the English Puritan theocracy. But other Puritans
were so absorbed in the Old Testament that the
New Testament was of no importance. Especially
the visionaries in Cromwell's army and among the
members of Parliament, who were hoping for the
Fifth Monarchy, or the reign of the saints, assigned to
the Jewish people a glorious position in the expected
millennium. A Puritan preacher, Nathaniel Holmes
(Holmesius), wished, according to the letter of many
prophetic verses, to become the servant of Israel,
and serve him on bended knees. The more the
tension in England increased through the imprison-
ment of the king, the dissensions between the Pres-
byterian Long Parliament and the Puritan army, the
civil war, the execution of King Charles, and the
establishment of a republic in England, the more
public life and religious thought assumed Jewish
coloring. The only thing wanting to make one think

28 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

himself in Judaea was for the orators in Parliament
to speak Hebrew. One author proposed the
seventh day as the day of rest, and in a work showed
the holiness of this day, and the duty of the English
people to honor it. This was in the beginning of
1649. Parliament, it is true, condemned this work
to be burnt as heretical, scandalous, and profane,
and sentenced the printer and author to punishment.
But the Israelite spirit among the Puritans, especially
among the Levelers, or ultra-republicans, was not
suppressed by these means. Many wished the
government to declare the Torah to be the code for
England.

These proceedings in the British islands, which
promised the exaltation of Israel at no distant period,
were followed by Manasseh with beating heart.
Did these voices not announce the coming of the
Messianic kingdom ? He hoped so, and put forth
feverish activity to help to bring about the desired
time. He entertained a visionary train of thought.
The Messiah could not appear till the punishment of
Israel, to be scattered from one end of the earth to
the other, had been fulfilled. There were no Jews
then living in England. Exertions must be made
to obtain permission for Jews to dwell in England,
that this hindrance to the advent of the Messiah
might be removed. Manasseh therefore put himself
into communication with some important persons,
who assured him that "the minds of men were
favorable to the Jews, and that they would be accep-
table and welcome to Englishmen." What especi-
ally justified his hopes was the "Apology" by
Edward Nicholas, former secretary to Parliament,
" for the honorable nation of the Jews." In this
work, which the author dedicated to the Long
Parliament, the Jews were treated, as the chosen
people of God, with a tenderness to which they were
not accustomed. Hence the author felt it necessary
to affirm at the end, that he wrote it, not at the

CH. ii. NICHOLAS' "APOLOGY." 29

instigation of Jews, but out of love to God and his
country. The opinion of the apologist was, that the
great sufferings brought upon England by the reli-
gious and civil war were a just punishment for
English persecution of the saints and favorites of
God, i. e., the Jews, and an urgent admonition to
atone for this great sin by admitting them and show-
ing them brotherly treatment. The author proved
the preference and selection of Israel by many
biblical quotations. He referred to a preacher who
had said in Parliament in connection with the verse :
" Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no
harm," that the weal or woe of the world depended
upon the good or bad treatment of God's people.
God in His secret counsel had sustained this people
to the present day, and a glorious future was reserved
for them. Hence it was the duty of Englishmen to
endeavor to comfort them, if possible give them
satisfaction for their innocent blood shed in this
kingdom, and enter into friendly intercourse with
them. This work also defends the Jews against the
accusation of having crucified Jesus. The death of
Jesus took place at the instigation of the Synhedrion,
not of the people. In most impressive terms it
urges the English to comfort the afflicted and un-
happy Jews. The pope and his adherents, he said,
would be enraged at the kind treatment of the
Jews, for they still inflicted cruelty and humiliation
upon the people of God, the popes compelling the
Jews to wear opprobrious badges, and Catholics
avoiding all contact with them, because they ab-
horred idols and heathen worship.

This work, which, more than friendly, absolutely
glorified the Jews, excited the greatest attention in
England and Holland. Manasseh ben Israel was
delighted with it, thinking that he was near his ob-
ject, especially as his friend Holmes at once com-
municated with him on the subject, saying that he
himself was about to prepare a work on the millen-

3O HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

nium, in which he would emphasize the importance
of the Jews in the molding of the future. Manasseh
ben Israel immediately set to work to do his share
towards the realization of his object. He, however,
as well as the Christian mystics in England, had
one anxiety ; what had become of the lost Ten
Tribes banished by the Assyrian king Shalmanassar?
A restoration of the Jewish kingdom without these
Ten Tribes seemed impossible, nay, their discovery
was the guarantee of the truth of the prophetic promi-
ses. The union of Judah and Israel which some of the
prophets had impressively announced would remain
unfulfilled if the Ten Tribes had ceased to exist.
Manasseh, therefore, laid great stress upon being
able to prove their existence somewhere. Fortu-
nately he was in a position to specify the situation
of the Ten Tribes. Some years before, a Jewish
traveler, named Montezinos, had affirmed on oath
that he had seen native Jews of the tribe of Reuben,
in South America, and had held communication
with them. The circumstantiality of his tale excited
curiosity, and inclined his contemporaries to belief.
Antonio de Montezinos was a Marrano, whom busi-
ness or love of travel had led to America. There
he had stumbled upon a Mestizo (Indian), who had
excited in him a suspicion that members of his race
were living in America, persecuted and oppressed
by the Indians, as the Indians had been by the
Spaniards, and later experiences confirmed the
suspicion.

Antonio de Montezinos, or Aaron Levi, had
brought the surprising news to Amsterdam, and
had related it under oath to a number of persons,
among them Manasseh ben Israel (about 1644).
Afterwards he went to Brazil, and there died. On
his deathbed he repeatedly asserted the truth of
the existence of some Israelite tribes in America.
Manasseh ben Israel was firmly convinced by the
statement of this man, and made it the foundation

CH. II. THE LOST TEN TRIBES. 3!

of a work, entitled " Israel's Hope," composed to
pave the way for the Messianic time. The Ten
Tribes, according to his assumption, had been dis-
persed to Tartary and China, and some might have
gone thence to the American continent. Some indi-
cations and certain manners and customs of the
Indians, resembling those of the Jews, seemed to
him to favor this idea. The prophetic announce-
ment of the perpetuity of the Israelite people had
accordingly been confirmed ; moreover there were
signs that the tribes were ready to come forth from
their hiding-places and unite with the others. The
time of redemption, which, it was true, could not be
foretold, and in the calculation of which many had
erred, appeared at last to be approaching. The
prophets' threats of punishment to the Jews had
been fulfilled in a terrible manner ; why should not
their hope-awakening promises be verified ? What
unspeakable cruelty the monster of the Inquisition
had inflicted, and still continued to inflict, on the
poor innocents of the Jewish race, on adults and
children of every age and either sex ! For what
reason ? Because they would not depart from the
Law of Moses, revealed to them amidst so many
miracles. For it numberless victims had perished
wherever the tyrannical rule of the Inquisition was
exercised. And martyrs continued to show incredi-
ble firmness, permitting themselves to be burnt
alive to honor the name of God.

Manasseh enumerated all the autos-da-fe of Mar-
ranos and other Jewish martyrs which had taken
place in his time.

Great excitement was caused amono- Dutch For-

^5

tuguese Jews by the burning of a young Marrano,
twenty-five years old, well read in Latin and Greek
literature. Isaac de Castro-Tartas, born at Tartas,
a small town in Gascony, had come with his parents
to Amsterdam. Glowing with zeal and a desire to
bring back to Judaism those Marranos who con-

32 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

tinued Christians, he prepared to travel to Brazil.
In vain his parents and friends warned him against
this mad step. In Bahia he was arrested by the
Portuguese, recognized as a Jew, sent to Lisbon,
and handed over to the Inquisition. This body had
no formal right over Isaac de Castro, for when
arrested he was a Dutch citizen. The tribunal in
vain tried to induce him to abjure Judaism. Young
De Castro-Tartas was determined manfully to en-
dure a martyr's death in honor of his faith. His
death was attended with the eclat he had longed
for. In Lisbon the funeral pile was kindled for him
and several others, on December 226., 1647. He
cried out of the flames, " Hear, O Israel, God is
one," in so impressive a tone that the witnesses of
the dreadful spectacle were greatly moved. For
several days nothing else was talked of in the
capital but the dreadful voice of the martyr Isaac de
Castro-Tartas and the "Shema," uttered with his
last breath. People spoke of it shudderingly. The
Inquisition was obliged to forbid the uttering of the
word " Shema " with a threat of heavy punishment.
It is said, too, that at that time it was determined to
burn no more Jewish heretics alive in Lisbon.

The Amsterdam community was stunned by the
news of successive executions of youthful sufferers.
De Castro-Tartas had parents, relatives, and friends
in Amsterdam, and was beloved on account of his
knowledge and character. The rabbi, Saul Mor-
teira, delivered a memorial address on his death.
Poets deplored and honored him in Hebrew and
Spanish verses, and, horrified by the new atrocities
of the Inquisition against Jews, Manasseh ben Israel
wrote " Israel's Hope." Even the reader of to-day
can feel grief trembling in every word. Indeed, if
martyrs could prove the truth and tenability of the
cause for which they bleed, Judaism needs no further
proof ; for no people and no religion on earth have
produced such numerous and firm martyrs. Ma-

CH. II. "ISRAELS HOPE. 33

nasseh used this proof to draw the conclusion that,
as promised sufferings had been inflicted, so the
promised redemption and regeneration of God's
people would be fulfilled. He sent this Latin
treatise on the existence of the Ten Tribes and their
hopes to a prominent and learned personage in
England, to be read before Parliament, which was
under Cromwell's influence, and before the Council
of State. In an accompanying letter Manasseh ex-
plained to Parliament his favorite idea, that the
return of the Jews to their native land — the time
for which was so near — must be preceded by their
complete dispersion. The dispersion, according to
the words of Scripture, was to be from one end of
the earth to the other, naturally including the island
of England, in the extreme north of the inhabited
world. But for more than 300 years no Jews had
lived in England ; therefore, he added the request
that the Council and Parliament grant Jews permis-
sion to settle in England, to have the free exercise
of their religion, and to build synagogues there
(1650). Manasseh made no secret of his Messianic
hopes, because he could and did reckon upon the
fact that the saints or Puritans themselves wished
for the " assembling of God's people " in their an-
cestral home, and were inclined to help and promote
it. He also intimated in his letter, that he was re-
solved to go to England, to arrange for the settle-
ment of the Jews.

Manasseh ben Israel had not reckoned amiss.
His request and dedication were favorably received
by Parliament. Lord Middlesex, probably the me-
diator, sent him a letter of thanks with the super-
scription, " To my dear brother, the Hebrew phil-
osopher, Manasseh ben Israel." A passport to En-
gland was also sent to him. The English ambassa-
dor in Holland, Lord Oliver St. John, a relative of
Cromwell, told him that he wished to go to the
Amsterdam synagogue, and gave him to understand,

34 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

probably according to Cromwell's instructions, that
England was inclined to gratify the long-cherished
wish of the Jews. Manasseh took care that he be
received in the house of prayer with music and
hymns (about August, 1651). However, the goal
to which he seemed so near was removed by politi-
cal complications. England and Holland entered
into a fierce war, which broke off the connection be-
tween Amsterdam and London. Manasseh's rela-
tions to his elder colleague, Saul Morteira (1652),
and the president, Joseph da Costa— it is not known
on what account — became strained, and in an angry
mood he formed the resolution to leave Amster-
dam. The directors of the community succeeded
in establishing a tolerable understanding between
the two chachams, but Manasseh had neither the
cheerfulness required nor a favorable opportunity
to resume his adventurous scheme.

But when Oliver Cromwell, by the illegal but
necessary dissolution of the Long Parliament, as-
sumed the chief power in April, 1653, and showed
an inclination to conclude peace with the States
General, Manasseh again took up his project.
Cromwell had called together a new parliament, the
so-called Short, or Barebones, Parliament, which
was composed wholly of saints, i. e., Puritan preach-
ers, officers with a biblical bias, and millennium vision-
aries. The partiality of Cromwell's officers for the
old Jewish system is shown by the serious proposi-
tion that the Council of State should consist of
seventy members, after the number of the Jewish
synhedrion. In Parliament sat General Harrison, a
Baptist, who, with his party, wished to see the
Mosaic law introduced into England. When Parlia-
ment met (July 5, 1653), Manasseh hastened to re-
peat his request, that Jews be granted permission
to reside in England. The question of the Jews
was immediately put on the programme of business.
Parliament sent Manasseh a safe conduct to Lon-

CH. II. MESSIANIC HOPES. 35

don, that he might conduct the business in person.
As the war between England and Holland still con-
tinued, his relatives and friends urged him not to
expose himself to the danger of a daily change of
affairs, and he again put off his voyage to a more
favorable time. The Short Parliament was soon
dissolved (December 12, 1653), and Cromwell ob-
tained kingly power under the title of Protector of
the Realm. When he concluded peace with Hol-
land (April, 1654), Manasseh thought the time well
suited for effecting his wishes for the redemption of
Israel. He was encouraged by the fact that three
admirals of the English fleet had drawn up a peti-
tion in October, 1654, to admit Jews into England.
Manasseh presented his petition for their admission
to Cromwell's second, still shorter Parliament, and,
probably at his instigation, David Abrabanel Dor-
mido, one of the leading men at Amsterdam, at the
same time presented one to the same effect, which
Cromwell urgently recommended to the Council
for speedy decision (November 3, 1654).

Manasseh reveled in intoxicating dreams of the
approaching glorious time for Israel. He regarded
himself as the instrument of Providence to bring
about its fulfillment. In these dreams he was up-
held and confirmed by Christian mystics, who were
eagerly awaiting the millennium. The Dutchman,
Henry Jesse, had shortly before published a work,
" On the Speedy Glory of Judah and Israel," in the
Dutch language. The Bohemian physician, mystic,
and alchemist, Paul Felgenhauer, went beyond the
bounds of reason. Disgusted with the formal creed
of the Evangelical Church, and the idolatrous ten-
dency of Catholicism, he wrote during the Thirty
Years' War against the corruption of the Church
and the Protestant clergy, and wished for a spiritual,
mystical religion. By a peculiar calculation, Felgen-
hauer was led to believe that the year six thousand
and the advent of the Messiah connected with it

36 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

were not far off. Persecuted in Germany by Cath-
olics and Protestants, he sought an asylum in Am-
sterdam, and there formed the acquaintance of
Manasseh ben Israel. Between these men and a
third visionary, Peter Serrarius, the speedy coming
of the Messianic time was often the subject of con-
versation. Felgenhauer then composed an original
work (December, 1654) entitled "Good News of
the Messiah for Israel! The redemption of Israel
from all his sufferings, his deliverance from captiv-
ity, and the glorious advent of the Messiah are nigh
for the comfort of Israel. Taken from the Holy
Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, by a
Christian who is expecting him with the Jews."
Felgenhauer places the Jewish people very high, as
the seed of Abraham, and considers true believers
of all nations the spiritual seed of Abraham. Hence
Jews and Christians should love, not despise, one
another. They should unite in God. This union
is near at hand. The bloody wars of nation against
nation by sea and land in the whole world, which
had not happened before to anything like the same
extent, are signs thereof. As further signs he ac-
counted the comets which appeared in 1618, 1648,
and 1652, and the furious Polish war kindled by the
Cossacks. Verses from the Bible, especially from
Daniel and the Apocalypse, with daring interpreta-
tions, served him as proofs. Felgenhauer denied
an earthly Messiah, nor did he allow the claim of
Jesus to the title.

As this half-insane work was dedicated to Manas-
seh, he was obliged to answer it, which he did with
great prudence (February i, 1655), gladly welcom-
ing the pages favorable to Jews, and passing over
the rest in silence. The good news concerning the
near future was the more welcome to his heart, he
said, as he himself, in spite of the afflictions of many
centuries, did not cease ardently to hope for better
times.

CH. II. THE FIFTH MONARCHY. 37

" How gladly would I believe you, that the time is near when God,
who has so long been angry with us, will again comfort His people,
and deliver it from more than Babylonian captivity, and more than
Egyptian bondage ! Your sign of the commencement of the Mes-
sianic age, the announcement of the exaltation of Israel throughout
the whole world, appears to me not only probable, but plain and
clear. A not inconsiderable number of these announcements (on the
Christian side) for the consolation of Zion have been sent to me from
Frankenberg and Mochinger, from France and Hungary. And from
England alone how many voices ! They are like that small cloud in
the time of the prophet Elijah, which suddenly extended so that it
covered the whole of the heavens."

Manasseh ben Israel had the courage to express
without ambiguity Jewish expectations in opposition
to the opinions held by Christian enthusiasts. They,
for the most part, imagined the fifth monarchy,
which they alleged was about to commence, as the
millennium,when Jesus would again appear and hand
over the sovereign power to the saints. The Jews
would have a share in it ; they would assemble from
the ends of the earth, return to their ancestral home,
and again build Jerusalem and the Temple. But
this would be only an intermediate state, the means
to enable the whole Twelve Tribes to acknowledge
Jesus as Messiah, so that there be but one flock
under one shepherd. Against this Manasseh ben
Israel composed a treatise, ended April 25, 1655,
on the fifth kingdom of the prophecy of Daniel,
interpreting it to mean the independence of
Israel. In this work, called " The Glorious Stone,
or the Image of Nebuchadnezzar," and dedicated to
Isaac Vossius, then in the service of the queen of
Sweden, he put forth all his learning to show that
the visions of the " four beasts," or great kingdoms,
had been verified in the successive sway of the
Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, and
therefore the cominof of the fifth kingdom also was

•

certain. This was shown in Daniel plainly enough
to be the kingdom of Israel, the people of God. In
this Messianic kinofdom all nations of the earth will

^5

have part, and they will be treated with kindness,
but the authority will ever rest with Israel. Manas-

38 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

sell disfigured this simple thought by Kabbalistic
triviality and sophistry. It is singular that not only
did a learned Christian accept the dedication of this
essentially Jewish work, but the celebrated painter
Rembrandt supplied four artistic engravings repre-
senting Nebuchadnezzar's, or Manasseh's vision.

Manasseh had received a friendly invitation from
the second Parliament assembled by Cromwell ; but
as it had meanwhile been dissolved, he could not
begin his journey until invited by the Protector
himself. He seems to have sent on in advance his
son, Samuel ben Israel, who was presented by the
University of Oxford, in consideration of his knowl-
edge and natural gifts, with the degree of doctor of
philosophy and medicine, and according to custom,
received the gold ring, the biretta, and the kiss of
peace. It was no insignificant circumstance that
this honor should be conferred upon a Jew by a
university strictly Christian in its conduct. Crom-
well's will appears to have been decisive in the
matter. He sent an invitation to Manasseh, but the
journey was delayed till autumn. Not till the end
of the Tishri festivals (October 25-31, 1655) did
Manasseh undertake the important voyage to Lon-
don, in his view, of the utmost consequence to the
world. He was received in a friendly manner by
Cromwell, and had a residence granted him.
Among his companions was Jacob Sasportas, a
learned man, accustomed to intercourse with per-
sons of high rank, who had been rabbi in African
cities. Other Jews accompanied him in the hope
that the admission of Jews would meet with no diffi-
culty. Some secret Jews from Spain and Portugal
were already domiciled in London, among them
being the rich and respected Fernandez Carvajal.
But the matter did not admit of such speedy settle-
ment. At an audience, Manasseh delivered to the
Protector a carefully composed petition, or address.
He had obtained the authorization of the Jews of

CH. II. MANASSEH BEN ISRAEL IN LONDON. 39

the different countries of Europe to act as their
representative, so that the admission of Jews into
England might be urged not in his own name alone,
but in that of the whole Jewish nation. In his peti-
tion he skillfully developed the argument, by means
of passages from the Bible and the Talmud, that
power and authority are conferred by God according
to his will ; that God rewards and punishes even the
rulers of the earth, and that this had been verified in
Jewish history; that great monarchs who had trou-
bled Israel had met with an unhappy end, as
Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus Epiphanes,
Pompey, and others. On the other hand, benefac-
tors of the Jewish nation had enjoyed happiness
'even here below, so that the word of God to
Abraham had been literally fulfilled : —

" ' I will bless them that bless thee.and curse them that curse thee.'
Hence I, one of the least among the Hebrews, since by experience I
have found, that through God's great bounty towards us, many con-
siderable and eminent persons both of piety and power are moved
with sincere and inward pity and compassion towards us, and do
comfort us concerning the approaching Deliverance of Israel, could
not but for myself, and in the behalf of my countrymen, make this my
humble Address to your Highness, and beseech you for God's sake
that ye would, according to that piety and power wherein you are
eminent beyond others, vouchsafe to grant that the great and glorious
name of the Lord our God may be extolled, and solemnly worshiped
and praised by us through all the bounds of this Commonwealth ; and
to grant us place in your country, that we may have our Synagogues,
and free exercise of our religion. Pagans have of old .... granted
free liberty even to apostate Jews : . . . . how much more then may
we, that are not Apostate or runagate Jews, hope it from your High-
ness and your Christian Council, since you have so great knowledge
of, and adore the same one only God of Israel, together with us. ...
For our people did .... presage that .... the ancient hatred
towards them would also be changed into goodwill : that those
rigorous laws .... against so innocent a people would happily be
repealed."

At the same time Manasseh ben Israel circulated
through the press a " Declaration " which served to
explain the reasons for admitting Jews, and to meet
objections and allay prejudices against their admis-
sion. All his reasons can be reduced to two — one
mystical and one of trade policy. The mystical

4<D HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

reason has been repeatedly explained. His opinion
coincided with that of many Christians, that the
return of the Israelites to their home was near at
hand. According to his view the general disper-
sion of the Jews must precede this event : —

" Now we know how our nation is spread all about, and has its seat
and dwelling in the most flourishing- countries of the world, as well
in America as in the other three parts thereof, except only in this
considerable and mighty island. And therefore, before the Messiah
come .... first we must have our seat here likewise."

The other reason was put in this form : that through
the Jews the trade of England would greatly
increase in exports and imports from all parts of
the world. He developed this point of the advan-
tage which the Jews might bestow at great length,
showing that on account of their fidelity and attach-
ment to the countries hospitable and friendly to
them they deserved to be treated with consideration.
Besides, they ought to be esteemed, on account of
their ancient nobility and purity of blood, among a
people which attached importance to such distinc-
tions.

Manasseh ben Israel considered the commerce
to which Jews were for the most part devoted from
a higher point of view. He had in mind the whole-
sale trade of the Portuguese Jews of Holland in
the coin of various nations (exchange business), in
diamonds, cochineal, indigo, wine, and oil. Their
money transactions were not based on usury, on
which the Jews of Germany and Poland relied.
The Amsterdam Jews deposited their capital in
banks, and satisfied themselves with five per cent
interest. The capital of the Portuguese Jews in
Holland and Italy was very considerable, because
Marranos in Spain and Portugal invested their
money with them, to evade the avarice of the Inqui-
sition. Hence Manasseh laid great weight on the
advantages which England might expect from his
enterprising countrymen. He thought that trading,

CH. ii. MANASSEH'S " DECLARATION." 41

the chief occupation, and, to a certain extent, the
natural inclination, of the Jews of all countries since
their dispersion, was the work of Providence, a mark
of divine favor towards them, that by accumulated
treasures they might find grace in the eyes of rulers
and nations. They were forced to occupy them-
selves with commerce, because, owing to the insecu-
rity of their existence, they could not possess landed
estates. Accordingly, they were obliged to pursue
trade till their return to their land, for then " there
shall be no more any trader in the house of the
Lord," as a prophet declares.

Manasseh ben Israel then took a survey over all
the countries where Jews, in his time, or shortly
before, by means of trade, had attained to import-
ance, and enumerated the persons who had risen to
high positions by their services to states or rulers.
However, much that he adduced, when closely con-
sidered, is not very brilliant, with the exception of
the esteemed and secure position which the Jews
occupied in Holland. Then he quoted examples of
the fidelity and devotedness of Jews in ancient and
modern times towards their protectors. He forcibly
refuted the calumny that the Jews had been banished
from Spain and Portugal for treachery and faithless-
ness. It was easy for him to show from Christian
authors that the expulsion of the Jews, and their
cruel treatment by Portugal, were at once criminal
and foolish, and most emphatically condemned by
wise rulers. He, took occasion to defend his breth-
ren against three other charges : usury, child mur-
der, and proselytism. To wipe off the stain of
usury, he made use of the justification employed by
Simone Luzzatto, a contemporary Jewish Italian
author, that usury was objectionable not in itself, but
in its excess. Of great weight was the fact which
he adduced, that the Portuguese Jews, for whom he
was pleading, abhorred usury as much as many
Christians, and that their large capital had not been

42 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

obtained from it. Manasseh could repudiate with
more vehemence the charge of murdering Christian
children. Christians made the accusation,he thought,
pretty much from the motives that influenced the
negroes of Guinea and Brazil, who tormented those
just escaped from shipwreck, or visited by mis-
fortune in general, by assuming that such persons
were accursed of God.

"We live not amongst the Black-moors and wild-men, but amongst
the white and civilized people of the world, yet we find this an ordi-
nary course, that men are very prone to hate and despise him that
hath ill fortune ; and on the other side, to make much of those whom
fortune doth favor."

Manasseh reminded the Christians that there had
been a time when they, too, had been charged by
heathens with being murderers of children, sorcerers,
and conjurers, and had been punished by heathen
emperors and officials. He was able to refer to a
case of his own time, that of Isaac Jeshurun, of
Ragusa, a Jew repeatedly tortured for child murder,
whose innocence had come to light, and filled the
judges with remorse. Manasseh denied the accu-
sation of the conversion of Christians to Judaism,
and referred to the injunction of the Jewish law to
dissuade rather than attract proselytes.

"Now, because I believe, that with a good conscience I have dis-
charged our nation of the Jews of those three slanders. . . I may
from these two qualities, of Profitableness and Fidelity, conclude,
that such a nation ought to be well entertained, and also beloved and
protected generally of all. The more, considering they are called in

the Sacred Scriptures the sons of God I could add a

third (point), viz., of the Nobility of the Jews, but because that point
is enough known amongst all Christians, as lately it has been shown

... by that worthy Christian minister, Mr. Henry Jessey . . .
and by Mr. Eclw. Nicholas, Gentleman. Therefore I will here forbear
and rest on the saying of Solomon .... 'Let another man's mouth
praise thee, and not thine own.' "

Cromwell was decidedly inclined to the admission
of the Jews. He may have had in view the prob-
ability that the extensive trade and capital of the
Spanish and Portuguese Jews, those professing Juda-

CH. II. CROMWELL AND THE JEWS. 43

ism openly as well as secretly, might be brought to
England, which at that time could not yet compete
with Holland. He was also animated by the great
idea of the unconditional toleration of all religions,
and even thought of granting religious freedom to
the intensely hated, feared, hence persecuted Cath-
olics. Therefore, he acceded to the wish of the
Jews to open an asylum to them in England. But
he was most influenced by the religious desire to
win over the Jews to Christianity by friendly treat-
ment. He thought that Christianity, as preached
in England by the Independents, without idolatry
and superstition, would captivate the Jews, hitherto
deterred from Christianity.

Cromwell and Manasseh ben Israel agreed in an
unexpressed, visionary, Messianic reason for the
admission of Jews into England. The Kabbalistic
rabbi thought that in consequence of the settlement
of Jews in the British island, the Messianic redemp-
tion would commence, and the Puritan Protector
believed that Jews in great numbers would accept
Christianity, and then would come the time of one
shepherd and one flock. To dispose the people
favorably towards the Jews, Cromwell employed two
most zealous Independents, his secretary, the clergy-
man Hugh Peters, and Harry Marten, the fiery
member of the Council, to labor at the task.

At last the time came to consider the question of
the admission of Jews seriously. They had been
banished in the year 1290 in pursuance of a decree
enacting that they should never return, and it was
questionable whether the decree was not still in
force. Therefore, Cromwell assembled a commis-
sion at Whitehall (December 4, 1655), to discuss
every aspect of the matter. The commission was
composed of Lord Chief Justice Glynn, Lord Chief
Baron Steel, and seven citizens, including the Lord
Mayor, the two sheriffs of London, an alderman, and
the recorder of the city, and fourteen eminent cler-

44 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

gymen of different towns. Cromwell mentioned two
subjects for discussion : whether it was lawful to
admit Jews into England, and, in case it was not
opposed to the law, under what conditions the
admission should take place. Manasseh had formu-
lated his proposal under seven heads : that they
should be admitted and protected against violence ;
that they should be granted synagogues, the free
exercise of religion, and places of burial ; that they
should enjoy freedom of trade ; and that their dis-
putes should be settled by their own rabbis and
directors ; and that all former laws hostile to
Jews should be repealed for their greater security.
On admission, every Jew should take the oath of
fidelity to the realm.

There was great excitement in London during the
discussion on the admission of the Jews, and pop-
ular feeling was much divided. Blind hatred against
the crucifiers of the Son of God, and blind love for
the people of God ; fear of the competition of Jews
in trade, and hope of gaining the precedence from
the Dutch and Spaniards by their means, prejudiced
ideas that they crucified Christian children, clipped
coin, or wished to make all the English people Jews—
these conflicting feelings disturbed the judgment
for and against them. Cromwell's followers, and
the Republicans in general, were for their admis-
sion ; Royalists and Papists, secretly or openly his
enemies, were opposed to the proposal. The people
crowded to the hall where the Jewish question was
publicly discussed. At the very beginning the legal
representatives declared that no ancient law ex-
cluded the Jews from England, for their banishment
had been enacted by the king, without the consent
of Parliament. The city representatives remained
silent ; the most violent were the clergy, who could
not rid themselves of their hatred against Jews,
derived from the gospels and their theological liter-
ature. Cromwell, who most earnestly wished to see

CH. II. THE JEWISH QUESTION IN LONDON. 45

them admitted, therefore added three clergymen,
among them Hugh Peters, from whom he expected
a vote favorable to the Jews. The question was not
brought to a decision in three sittings. Cromwell
therefore ordered a final discussion (December 18,
1655), at which he presided. The majority of the
clergy on this day, too, were against the admission
of Jews, even the minority favoring it only with due
precautions. Cromwell, dissatisfied with the course
of the discussion, first had the theological objections
refuted by Manasseh ben Israel, then expressed him-
self with much warmth, and reprimanded the clergy.
He said that he had hoped to receive enlighten-
ment for his conscience ; instead, they had made
the question more obscure. The main strength of
his arguments was : The pure (Puritan) gospel must
be preached to the Jews, to win them to the church.
" But can we preach to them, if we will not tolerate
them among us ? " Cromwell thereupon closed the
discussion, and resolved to decide the matter accord-
ing to his own judgment.

He had not only the opposition of the fanatical
clergy to contend against, but also that of the multi-
tude, who shared their prejudiced feeling. The
enemies of the Jews made every effort to win over
the people against their admission. They spread
the report that the Jews intended to buy the library
of the University of Oxford, and, if possible, turn St.
Paul's into a synagogue. They sought to bring
Cromwell's friendship for the Jews under suspicion,
and circulated the report that an embassy had come
to England from Asia and Prague to find out
whether Cromwell was not the expected Messiah of
the Jews. A clerical pamphleteer, named William
Prynne, stirred up a most fanatical excitement
against the Jews. He composed a venomous work,
" A Short Demurrer," in which he raked up all false
accusations against them of counterfeit coining, and
the crucifixion of Christian children, and briefly

46 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

summarized the anti-Jewish decrees of the thirteenth
century, so as to make the name of Jew hated.
From other quarters, also, various publications
appeared against them. John Hoornbeek, a Dutch-
man, composed a book on the conversion of the
Jews, in which he pretended to be their friend, but
actually sought to asperse them. John Dury, an
Englishman residing at the time at Cassel, was also
resolved to make his voice heard about the Jews ;
he weighed arguments for and against their admis-
sion, and at last inclined to the view that it was a
serious matter to permit Jews to enter England.
His work was printed and distributed. Probably at
Cromwell's suggestion, Thomas Collier wrote a
refutation of Prynne's charges, dedicating it to the
Protector. He even justified the crucifixion of Jesus
by the Jews, and concluded his work with a passage
in the taste of that time :

" Oh, let us respect them; let us wait for that glorious day which
will make them the head of the nations. Oh, the time is at hand
when every one shall think himself happy that can but lay hold on
the skirt of a Jew. Our salvation came from them! Our Jesus was
of them! We are gotten into their promises and privileges! The
natural branches were cut off, that we might be grafted on! Oh, let
us not be high-minded, but fear. Let us not, for God's sake, be un-
merciful to them! No ! let it be enough if we have all their [spirit-
ual] riches."

While the admission of Jews met with so many
difficulties in England, the Dutch Government was
by no means pleased with Manasseh ben Israel's
efforts to bring it to pass, fearing, doubtless, that the
Amsterdam Jews would remove to England, with all
their capital. Manasseh was obliged to pacify the
Dutch ambassador in an interview, and to assure
him that his exertions concerned not Dutch Jews,
but ^ the Marranos, watched with Argus eyes in
Spain and Portugal, for whom he wished to provide
an asylum. Manasseh waited six months in Lon-
don to obtain from Cromwell a favorable decision,
but without success. The Protector found no leis-

CH. II. HESITATION OF THE ENGLISH. 47

ure to attend to the Jewish question, his energies
were devoted to obtaining the funds necessary for
the government and foreign wars, refused by one
Parliament after another, and to frustrating the
royalist conspiracy against his life. Manasseh's
companions, who had given up all hopes of success,
left London ; others who, having fled from the
Pyrenean peninsula, were on their way thither,
turned back, and settled in Italy or Geneva.

But the friends of the Jews were unwearied, and
hoped to produce a change of mind in the people.
One of " the saints" published a small work (April,
1656), in which he briefly summarized the proceed-
ings at the discussion on the admission of Jews, and
then added :

" What shall be the issue of this, the most high God knoweth;
Rabbi Manasseh ben Israel still remains in London, desiring a favor-
able answer to his proposals; and not receiving it, he hath desired, that
if they may not be granted, he may have a favorable dismission, and
return home. But other great affairs being now in hand, and this
being business of very great concernment, no absolute answer is yet
returned to him."

To elicit a thorough refutation of all the charges
advanced by the enemies of the Jews and the oppo-
nents of toleration, a person of high rank, in close
relation with the government, induced Manasseh
ben Israel to publish a brief but comprehensive
work, in defense of the Jews. In the form of a let-
ter he stated all the grounds of accusation. These
included the current slanders : the use of the blood
of Christians at the Passover, curses upon Chris-
tians and blasphemy against the God of the Chris-
tians in Jewish prayers, and the idolatrous reverence
alleged to be shown the Torah-scrolls. The de-
fense of the Jews, which Manasseh ben Israel com-
posed in reply (April 10), and which was soon after-
wards circulated through the press, is perhaps the
best work from his pen. It is written with deep
feeling, and is, therefore, convincing ; learned matter
is not wanting, but the learning is subordinate to

48 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

the main object. In the composition of this defense
Manasseh must have had peculiar feelings. He
had come to England the interpreter or represen-
tative of the people of God, expecting speedily to
conquer the sympathy of Christians, and pave the
way for the lordship of Israel over the world,
and now his people was placed at the bar, and he
had to defend it. Hence the tone of this work is
not aggressive and triumphant, but plaintive. He
affirmed that nothing had ever produced a deeper
impression on his mind than the letter addressed
to him with the list of anti-Jewish charges.

" It reflects upon the credit of a nation, which amongst so many
calumnies, so manifest (and therefore shameful), I dare to pronounce
innocent. And in the first place, I cannot but weep bitterly, and
with much anguish of soul lament, that strange and horrid accusation
of some Christians against the dispersed and afflicted Jews that dwell
among them, when they say (what I tremble to write) that the Jews
are wont to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, fermenting it
with the blood of some Christians whom they have for that purpose
killed."

To this false charge so often made, among others
by Prynne, the greatest part of his defense is
devoted, and it is indeed striking. He traced the
accusation to false witnesses or the confession of
accused persons under torture. The innocence of
the accused was often brought to light, but too late,
when they had been executed. Manasseh confirmed
this by an entertaining story. The physician of a Por-
tuguese count had been charged by the Inquisition as
a Judaizing Christian. In vain the count pledged
himself for his orthodoxy, he was nevertheless tor-
tured, and himself confessed that he was a Judaizing
sinner. Subsequently the count, pretending serious
illness, sent for the inquisitor, and in his house, with
doors closed, he commanded him in a threatening
tone to confess in writing that he was a Jew. The
inquisitor refused ; then a servant brought in a red-
hot helmet to put upon his head. Thereupon the
inquisitor confessed everything demanded by the

CH. II. " VINDICI/E JUD/EORUM." 49

count, who took this opportunity to reproach him
with his cruelty and inhumanity.

Manasseh ben Israel besides affirmed with a sol-
emn oath the absolute falsehood of the oft-repeated
charges as to the use of Christian blood.

After meeting the other accusations against the
Jews, he concludes his defense with a fine prayer and
an address to England :

" And to the highly honored nation of England I make my most
humble request, that they would read over my arguments impartially,
without prejudice and devoid of all passion, effectually recommending
me to their grace and favor, and earnestly beseeching God that He
would be pleased to hasten the time promised by Zephaniah, wherein
we shall all serve him with one consent, after the same manner, and
shall be all of the same judgment ; that as his name is one, so his fear
may be also one, and that we may all see the goodness of the Lord
(blessed for ever !) and the consolations of Zion."

This last work of Manasseh ben Israel produced
in England the favorable effect desired. Though
Cromwell, amidst the increasing difficulties of his
government, could not fully carry out the admission
of the Jews, he made a beginning towards it. He
dismissed Manasseh with honorable distinctions, and
granted him a yearly allowance of one hundred
pounds (February 20, 1657) out of the public treas-
ury. The Jews were not admitted in triumph
through the great portal, but they were let in by
Cromwell through a back door, yet they established
themselves firmly. This was in consequence of an
indictment brought against an immigrant Marrano
merchant, Antonio Robles, that he, a Portuguese
Papist, had illegally engaged in business pursuits in
England, but he was acquitted by the Protector on
the ground that he was not a Catholic, but a Jew.
Thus the residence of such Jews was suffered ; they
could therefore drop the mask of Catholicism. Two
respected Marranos, Simon de Caceres and Fer-
nandez (Isaac) Carvajal, in fact received Cromwell's
permission to open a special burial-ground for the
Sephardic Jews settled in London (1657). In con-

50 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. II.

sequence of this permission it was no longer neces-
sary to make a show of attending church or of
having their newly-born children baptized. But they
occupied an anomalous position. Being strangers,
and on account of their insignificant numbers, they
lived not exactly on sufferance, but were ignored.
Thus Manasseh ben Israel's endeavors were not
entirely vain. He did not draw the pension
awarded him, nor did he live to witness the coming
up of the seed scattered by him, for on the way
home he died, at Middelburg, probably broken down
by his exertions and the disappointment of his hopes,
even before he reached his family (November, 1657).
His body was afterwards brought to Amsterdam,
and an honorable epitaph was put over his grave.
But his zealous activity, outcome though it was of
Messianic delusions, bore fruit, because it was sin-
cere. Before he had been dead ten years, Jews
were gradually admitted into England by the mon-
archy which succeeded the republic. A community
was assembled which soon became organized, a
room was fitted up in King street as a synagogue,
and Jacob Sasportas, the wanderer from Africa,
Manasseh ben Israel's companion, was chosen rabbi.
The branch community of London took as its model
that of Amsterdam. From this second stronghold,
occupied by Portuguese Jews, afterwards proceeded
the agitation for popular freedom and the liberation
of the Jews.

CHAPTER III.

THE SCEPTICS.

Condition of Judaism — Complete Triumph of the Kabbala — The Dis-
ciples of Isaac Lurya — Vital Calabrese, Abraham de Herrera,
and Isaiah Hurwitz — Immanuel Aboab — Uriel da Costa ; his
Career and Death — Leo Modena; his Character and his Writings
— Deborah Ascarelli and Sarah Copia Sullam, Jewish Author-
esses— Leo Modena's veiled Scepticism — The Travels and Influ-
ence of Joseph Delmedigo — The Writings of Simone Luzzatto.

l62O — l66o C. E.

JUDAISM, then in its three thousandth year, was like
a rich kernel, covered and concealed by crusts de-
posited one upon another, and by extraneous mat-
ter, so that only very few could recognize its true
character. The Sinaitic and prophetic kernel of
thought had long been covered over with the three-
fold layer of Sopheric, Mishnic, and Talmudical
explanations and restrictions. Over these, in the
course of centuries, new layers had been formed by
the Gaonic, Spanish, French, German, and Polish
schools, and these layers and strata were enclosed
by an unsightly growth of fungus forms, the mouldy
coating of the Kabbala, which, settling in the gaps
and chinks, grew and ramified. All these new forms
had already the authority of age in their favor, and
were considered inviolable. People no longer asked
what was taught in the fundamental Sinaitic law, or
what was considered of importance by the prophets ;
they scarcely regarded what the Talmud decided to
be essential or non-essential ; the Rabbinical writers
alone, Joseph Karo and Moses Isserles being the
highest authorities, decided what was Judaism. Be-
sides, there were superadditions from the Polish
schools, and lastly the Kabbalistic dreams of Isaac

52 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

Lurya. The parasitic Kabbala choked the whole
religious life of the Jews. Almost all rabbis and
leaders of Jewish communities, whether in small
Polish towns or in cultivated Amsterdam, the Cha-
cham Isaac Aboab de Fonseca, as well as Isaiah
Hurwitz, the emigrant to Palestine, were ensnared
by the Kabbala. Gaining influence in the fourteenth
century, contemporaneously with the ban against
science, it had made such giant strides since Isaac
Lurya's death, or rather committed such gigantic
ravages, that nothing could keep it in check.
Lurya's wild notions of the origin, transmigration,
and union of souls, of redemption, and wonder-
working, after his death attracted more and more
adherents into his magic circle, clouding their minds
and narrowing their sympathies.

Lurya's disciples, the lion's whelps, as they boast-
fully called themselves, made systematic efforts to ef-
fect conversions, circulated most absurd stories about
Lurya's miracles, gave out that their master's spirit
hadcomeuponthem,andshrouded themselves in mys-
tery, in order to attract greater attention. Chayim
Vital Calabrese had been most prominent, and with
his juggleries deluded the credulous in Palestine and
the neighboring countries (1572-1620) till his death.
He claimed to be the Ephraimitic Messiah, and
therefore assumed a sort of authority over his fellow-
disciples. In Jerusalem, where he resided for sev-
eral years, Vital preached, and had visions, but did
not meet with the recognition he expected. Only
women said that they had seen a pillar of fire or the
prophet Elijah hovering over Vital while he preached.

In Safet, Vital, imitating his master, visited graves,
carried on exorcism of spirits, and other mystic
follies, but not living on good terms with his col-
leagues, especially his brother-in-law, Gedaliah
Levi, of whom he was jealous, he settled at
Damascus (1594-1620), continued his mystifications,
affected great personal importance, as if the salva-

CH. III. CHAYIM VITAL CALABRESE. 53

tion of the world rested on his shoulders, and
preached the speedy appearance of the Messiah,
and his mission to hasten it. Jesus and Mahom-
et, repenting their errors, would lay their crowns at
his feet. Ridiculed on account of his wild proceed-
ings, and declared to be a false prophet, he took
vengeance on his detractors by gross slanders.

In old age he continued his mystical nonsense,
saying that he had been forbidden to reveal his vis-
ions, but this prohibition having been withdrawn, he
could now announce that certain souls living in
human bodies would be united to him — of course, in
a subordinate capacity — to bring about the redemp-
tion, one of the souls destined for this mission being
in a foreign country. This was a bait to attract
Kabbala enthusiasts, and thus secure a following.
And enthusiasts hastened from Italy, Germany,
Poland, and other countries to play a Messianic part.
The manuscript notes left by Lurya gave rise to
further frauds. Vital asserted that he alone was in
possession of them, and obtained a decree from the
college at Safet, declaring that no one was author-
ized to publish information about Lurya's Kabbala
elsewhere. Kabbalists became the more anxious
to possess this incomparable treasure. Chayim
Vital's brother, Moses Vital, took advantage of their
eagerness to make a good business of it. During
an illness of his brother's, he caused the writings
found at his house to be copied, and sold them at a
high price. After his recovery, Chayim Vital
affirmed that the writings stolen were not the gen-
uine ones ; these he would never publish. He is
said in his will to have directed them to be laid in his
grave. Nevertheless, after his death, his son, Sam-
uel Vital, sold Luryan Kabbalistic revelations, and
published his father's dreams and visions in a
separate work. An immigrant Marrano from Portu-
gal, a devotee of the Kabbala, asserted that he had
found the best collection in Vital's grave.

54 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

After this time a regular search was made after
the Kabbala of Lurya and Vital. Whoever was in
possession of copies, and offered them for sale or
publication, found ready purchasers. Messengers
were employed to give this fraud currency in the
Jewish communities. Israel Saruk, or Sarug, a Ger-
man, one of Lurya's disciples, introduced the Luryan
Kabbala into Italy, gained many adherents for it,
and much money for himself. His account of his
master's miracles offended the taste of very few.
From Italy he betook himself to Holland, and there
gained a disciple who knew how to give the Kabba-
listic frenzy a philosophic complexion. Alonzo, or
Abraham, de Herrera (died 1639), a descendant of
the Great Captain, the viceroy of Naples, was intro-
duced by Saruk into the mysteries of the Luryan
Kabbala. Having lived a Christian during the
greatest part of his life, he was more familiar with
non-Jewish philosophy than with Jewish literature ;
therefore it was easy to deceive him into taking
dross for gold. He felt clearly that Lurya's Kab-
bala betrayed resemblances to Neoplatonic philos-
ophy, but this disturbed De Herrera little, or rather,
it confirmed the Kabbalistic teaching, and he en-
deavored to explain one by the other. Finding it
impossible to reconcile the two systems, he, too, fell
into idle talk and rambling expressions. Abraham
de Herrera, who, as has been stated, became a Jew
at a ripe age, could not learn Hebrew, and hence
had his two Kabbalistic works, the " House of God"
and the " Gate of Heaven," translated by the Am-
sterdam preacher Isaac Aboab from Spanish into
Hebrew, and in his will set apart a considerable
sum of money for their publication. The author
and translator doubtless thought that they had ren-
dered an inexpressibly great service to Judaism.
But by the meretricious splendor which these works
imparted to the Kabbala, they blinded the superficial
minds of the average Portuguese Jews, who, in spite

CH. III. THE SPIRIT OF DOUBT. 55

of their knowledge of classical literature and Euro-
pean culture, abandoned themselves to the delu-
sions of the Kabbala. Manasseh ben Israel and all
his older and younger contemporaries in Holland
paid homage to mysticism, and had no doubt of its
truth and divinity.

In Germany and Poland two men, half Polish and
half German, brought Lurya's Kabbala into high esti-
mation : Isaiah Hurwitz (Sheloh), called the Holy,
and Naphtali Frankfurter, to whom we may perhaps
add the credulous Solomon, or Shlomel, of Moravia,
who glorified the silliest stories of wonders per-
formed by Isaac Lurya, Vital, and their circle, in let-
ters sent to Germany and Poland, which were eag-
erly read and circulated.

However, in this thick unsightly crust over-
spreading the Kabbala, some rifts and chinks
appeared, which indicated disintegration. Here
and there were found unprejudiced men, wrho
felt and expressed doubts as to the truth of
Judaism in its later Rabbinical and Kabbalistic
form. Many went further, and included Tal-
mudical interpretation. Others advanced from
doubt to certainty, and proceeded more or less
openly against the existing form of Judaism. Such
inquirers, of course, were not to be met with among
German and Polish, nor among Asiatic Jews ; these
considered every letter in the Talmud and Zohar,
every law in the code (Shulchan Aruch) as the in-
violable word of God. The doubters were only in
Italian and Portuguese communities, which had rela-
tions with educated circles. A pious adherent of
tradition, Immanuel Aboab, of Portuguese origin,
who had long resided in Italy, felt called upon to
compose a defense of the Judaism of the Talmud
and the rabbis (Nomologia, composed 1616-1625),
showing an unbroken chain of exponents of true
tradition down to his own time, a well-meant, but
not very convincing work. The confused Kabbalist

56 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

Naphtali Frankfurter complained of his comtempo-
raries who ridiculed the Talmud. Three or four
gifted investigators more or less frankly revealed
the scepticism working beneath the surface. These
three men, differing in character, mode of life, and
position, were Uriel Acosta, Judah Leo Modena, and
Joseph Delmedigo ; we may perhaps add Simone
Luzzatto to the list. They endeavored to lay bare
the disadvantages and weaknesses of existing Juda-
ism ; but not one of them was able to suggest or
apply a remedy.

Uriel da Costa (Gabriel Acosta, born about 1590,
died April, 1640) was an original character, whose
inward unrest and external course of life could not
but bring him into conflict with Judaism. He was
descended from a Portuguese Marrano family at
Oporto, whose members had been made sincere
believers in Christ by the terrors of the Inquisition.
His father, at least, who belonged to the higher
classes in Portugal, had become a strict Catholic.
Young Gabriel learnt ecclesiasticism and the accom-
plishments of a cavalier from his father, was, like
him, a good rider, and entered upon a course of
education, limited, indeed, but sufficient for that time.
He adopted the only career open to young Portu-
guese of the upper middle class, by means of which
the gifted could rise to distinction, and to a certain
equality with the nobility. He was prepared for the
law, a study which might pave the way to the second
rank, the clerical. In his youth the Jesuits had
already obtained powerful influence over men's
minds, and their methods of exciting the imagination
and subduing the intellect by depicting everlasting
damnation and the punishments of hell had proved
effectual. Nothing but punctilious, mechanical wor-
ship and continual confession could overcome the
terrors of hell.

Gabriel da Costa, in spite of his punctilious
ecclesiasticism, did not feel quieted in his conscience.

CH. III. URIEL DA COSTA. 57

Daily mechanical exercises failed to influence his
mind, and continual confession to obtain absolution
from the lips of the priest pleased him less as he
became more mature. Somewhat of the subtle Jew-
ish spirit remained in his nature, and shook the
strongly built Catholic system of belief to its founda-
tions. The more deeply he plunged into the Catho-
lic Jesuitic teaching, the more did doubts trouble him,
and disturb his conscience. However, he accepted
a semi-ecclesiastical office as chief treasurer to an
abbey about 1615. To end his doubts, he investi-
gated the oldest records of Holy Scripture. The
prophets were to solve the riddles which the Roman
Catholic Church doctrines daily presented to him.
The fresh spirit which breathed from out of the Old
Testament, disfigured though it was in its Latin
guise, brought repose to his mind. The doctrines
of Judaism appeared the more certain, as they were
recognized by the New Testament and the Church,
while those of Catholicism were rejected by Judaism ;
in the one case there was unanimity, in the other,
contradiction. Da Costa formed the resolution to
forsake Catholicism and return to Judaism. Of an
impulsive, passionate temperament, he sought to
carry his resolution into effect quickly. With great
caution he communicated his intention to his mother
and brothers — his father was already dead — and
they also resolved to expose themselves to the
danger of secret emigration, to leave their hearth and
home, give up a respected position in society, and
exchange the certain present for an uncertain future.
In spite of the Argus-eyed espionage of Marranos
by the Inquisition and the secular authorities, the
Da Costa family succeeded in gaining a vessel and
escaping to Amsterdam (about 1617-18). Gabriel
da Costa and his brothers were admitted to the
covenant of Abraham, and Gabriel changed his
name to Uriel.

Of a hot-blooded nature, an enthusiast whose

58 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

imagination overpowered his judgment, Uriel da
Costa had formed for himself an ideal of Judaism
which he expected to meet with in Amsterdam, but
which had never been realized. He thought to see
biblical conditions, supported by pure Pentateuchal
laws, realized in the young Amsterdam community,
and to find an elevation of mind which would at once
clear up the puzzles that the Catholic Church could
not solve. What the Catholic confessors could not
offer, he thought that he would be able to obtain
from the rabbis of Amsterdam. Da Costa had built
religious and dogmatic castles in the air, and was
annoyed not to meet with them in the world of
reality. He soon found that the religious life of the
Amsterdam community and its established laws did
not agree with Mosaic or Pentateuchal precepts, but
were often opposed to them. As he had made great
sacrifices for his convictions, he thought that he had
the right to express his opinion freely, and point to the
gap which existed between biblical and Rabbinical
Judaism. He was deeply wounded, embittered, and
irritated, and allowed himself to be completely over-
powered by his feelings. He did not stop at mere
words, but regulated his conduct accordingly, openly
disregarded religious usages, and thought that in
opposing the ordinances of the "Pharisees" (as,
in the language of the Church, he called the rabbis),
he was recommending himself to the favor of God.
He thereby brought upon himself unpleasantnesses
destined to end tragically. Were the Amsterdam
Jews, who had suffered so much for their religion,
quietly to see one of their members openly assail
and ridicule Judaism, become so dear to them ?
Those born and brought up in the land of the Inquisi-
tion had no idea of toleration and indulgence for
the conviction of others. The rabbis, perhaps Isaac
Uziel and Joseph Pardo, threatened Da Costa with
excommunication, i. e., expulsion from the religious
community and severance of all relations with it, if

CH. III. DA COSTA ATTACKED. 59

he persisted in transgressing the religious ordinan-
ces of Judaism. This opposition only served to
increase Da Costa's passion ; he was ill-content to
have purchased new fetters by the sacrifices he had
made. He continued to disregard the laws in force,
and was eventually excommunicated. Uriel's rela-
tives, who had more easily adapted themselves to
the new faith, avoided him, and spoke not a word to
him. Thus Da Costa stood alone in the midst of a
great city. Separated from his race, friends, and
relatives, a stranger amongst the Christian inhabi-
tants of Amsterdam, whose language he had not yet
learnt,and thrown upon himself, he fell more and more
into subtle speculation. Acting under excessive irri-
tation, he resolved to publish a work hostile to
the Judaism of the day, and bring out particularly
the glaring contrast between it and the Bible. As
irrefragable proof, he intended to emphasize that the
former recognized only bodily punishments and
rewards, and taught nothing as to the immortality of
the soul. But he discovered that the Bible itself
observes silence about a purely spiritual future life,
and does not bring within the circle of religion the
idea of a soul separated from the body. In short,
his investigations led him away not only from Catho-
licism and Rabbinical Judaism, but from the Bible
itself. It is not known how it was circulated that
the excommunicated Da Costa intended to give
public offense, but he was anticipated. Samuel da
Silva, a Jewish physician, in 1623 published a work
in the Portuguese language, entitled " A Treatise on
the Immortality of the Soul, in order to confute the
Ignorance of a certain Opponent, who in Delusion
affirms many Errors." In the course of the work
the author plainly named Uriel, and described him
as " blind and incapable." Da Costa thought his
opponents, especially the rabbis, had hired Da Silva's
pen to attack him. Hence he hastened to publish
his work, also in Portuguese (1624-1625), entitled

60 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

" An Examination of the Pharisaic Traditions, com-
pared with the written Laws, and Reply to the Slan-
derer Samuel da Silva." The fact of his calling his
opponent a slanderer shows his confusion, for he
actually asserted what Da Silva had reproached him
with, that the soul is not immortal. As he now had
unequivocally declared his breach with Judaism, he
had to take the consequences. Before, he had been
openly scorned by young people in the street as an
excommunicant, a heretic, an Epicurean (in the Tal-
mudical sense) ; he had been pelted with stones, dis-
turbed and annoyed in his own house (as he thought,
at the instigation of the rabbis). Now, after the
appearance of his work, the official representatives
of the Amsterdam community complained to the
magistrates that by denying the immortality of the
soul, he had attacked not only the teaching of Juda-
ism, but also of Christianity, and had published
errors. Da Costa was arrested, kept for several
days in prison, at last fined 300 gulden, and his work
condemned to the flames. The freest state of that
time believed that it had the right to keep watch over
and limit freedom of thought and writing ; its distinc-
tion was merely that it kindled no funeral piles for hu-
man beings. Da Costa's brethren in race could not
have persecuted him very severely, for he was able to
bear excommunication during the long space of fif-
teen years. Only his isolation was a heavy burden ;
he could not endure to be avoided by his family as
one infected with the plague. Da Costa was not a
strong-minded man, a thinker of the first order, who
could live happily in his world of ideas as in bound-
less space, unconcerned about the outer world, and
glad of his solitary freedom ; he could not do without
the world. He had invested his capital with one of
his brothers, and he thought that it would be endan-
gered if he continued the war against the community.
He thought of taking a wife, which was impossible
so long as he was excommunicated Hence he at

CH. III. DA COSTA RETRACTS. 6l

last yielded to the urgency of his relatives to become
reconciled with the community. He was willing, as
he said, " to be an ape among apes." He confessed
Judaism with his lips at the very time when he had in
his heart thoroughly fallen away from it.

Da Costa, in his philosophical inquiries, had come
upon a new discovery. Judaism, even in its pure
biblical form, could not have been of divine origin,
because it contradicts nature in many points, and
God, the Creator of nature, can not contradict Him-
self in revelation. He cannot command a principle
in the Law, if He has implanted in nature an oppos-
ing principle. This was the first step to the deistic
tendency then appearing in France and the Nether-
lands, which acknowledged God only in nature, not
in the moral law, and in religious and political devel-
opment. Da Costa's theory supposed a religion of
nature inborn in man, which produced and built
up the moral law, and culminated in the love of
members of a family to one another. The best in
Judaism and other revealed religions is borrowed
from the religion of nature. The latter knows only
love and union ; the others, on the contrary, arm
parents and children against one another on account
of the faith. This theory was the suggestion of his
bitterness, because his relatives avoided him, and
showed him but little consideration. Da Costa ap-
pears to have put forward as the religion of nature
what the Talmud calls the Noachian command-
ments.

In spite of his complete falling away from Juda-
ism, he resolved, as he himself states, on the inter-
vention of his nephew, and after passing fifteen
years in excommunication (about 1618-1633), to
alter his course of life and actions, make a confes-
sion, or rather put his signature to such a document,
an act of what he himself describes as thorough-
going hypocrisy, designed to purchase repose and
comfort, at the cost of conviction. But his passion-

62 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

ate nature robbed him of both. He could not
impose renunciation upon himself to conform to the
religious usages of Judaism, but transgressed them
immediately after his penitent confession. He was
detected by one of his relatives, and they all, espec-
ially the nephew who had brought about the recon-
ciliation, were so embittered that they persecuted
him even more relentlessly than those less nearly
connected with him. They again renounced inter-
course with him, prevented his marriage, and are
said to have injured him in his property. Through
his passionate hatred of Judaism, which he had con-
fessed with his lips, he committed an act of folly
which exposed his true sentiments. Two Chris-
tians, an Italian and a Spaniard, had come from
London to Amsterdam to attach themselves to
Judaism. When they consulted Uriel da Costa on
the subject, he gave a frightful picture of the Jewish
form of religion, warned them against laying a
heavy yoke on their necks, and advised them to
continue in their own faith. Contrary to promise,
the two Christians betrayed Da Costa's remarks on
Judaism to the leaders of the community. The war
between them and him broke out afresh. The rab-
bis summoned him a second time before their tribu-
nal, set before him his religious transgressions, and
declared that he could escape a second severe
excommunication only by submitting to a solemn
penance in public. More from a sense of honor
than from conviction he refused this penance, and
so was a second time laid under the ban, much more
severe than the first, in which condition he con-
tinued for seven years. During this time he was
treated by the members of the community with
contempt, and even spat upon. His brothers and
nephews behaved with the greatest severity towards
him, because they thought by that means to force
him to repentance. They reckoned on his helpless-
ness and weakness, and they did not reckon amiss.

CH. in. DA COSTA'S HUMILIATION. 63

Da Costa meanwhile had reached middle age,
had been made submissive by conflicts and excite-
ment, and longed for repose. By process of law,
which he had instituted against the' Amsterdam
authorities, he could obtain nothing, because he
could not put his complaints into a tangible form;
he consented, therefore, to everything demanded
for his humiliation. His public penance was to be
very severe. There was no definite prescription on
the subject in the religious Code, which, in fact, is
opposed in spirit to public penance ; the sinner is
not to confess aloud his transgressions against
religion, but in silence to God. Judaism, from its
origin, objected to confession and the mechanical
avowal of sins. For this reason it remained for the
college of rabbis to appoint a form of penance.
The Amsterdam rabbis and the communal council,
consisting of Marranos, adopted as a model the
gloomy form of the tribunal of the Inquisition.

As soon as Da Costa had consented to his humil-
iation, he was led into one of the synagogues, which
was full of men and women. There was to be a
sort of auto-da-fe, and the greatest possible publicity
was given to his penance because the scandal had
been public. He had to ascend a stage and read
out his confession of sins : that he had desecrated
the Sabbath, violated the dietary laws, denied arti-
cles of faith, and advised persons not to adopt
Judaism. He solemnly declared that he resolved
to be no longer guilty of such offenses, but to live
as a true Jew. On a whisper from the first rabbi,
probably Saul Morteira, he went to a corner of the
synagogue, stripped as far as the girdle, and re-
ceived thirty-nine stripes with a scourge. Then he
was obliged to sit on the ground, after which the
ban was removed. Not yet having satisfied the
authorities, he had to stretch himself out on the
threshold of the synagogue, that those present
might step over him. It was certainly an excessive

64 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

penance which was imposed upon him, not from a
desire of persecution or vengeance, but from reli-
gious scrupulousness and mimicry of Catholic forms.
No wonder that the disgrace and humiliation deeply
wounded Da Costa, who had consented to the pun-
ishment, not from inward repentance, but from
exhaustion. The public disgrace had shaken his
whole being, and suggested thoughts of revenge.
Instead of pitying the rabbis as the creatures of
historical conditions, he hated them with a glowing
feeling of revenge as the refuse of mankind, and as
if they thought of nothing but deception, lying, and
wickedness. His wounded sense of honor and
heated imagination saw in the Jews of the Amster-
dam community, perhaps in all the Jews on the
earth's surface, his personal, venomous foes, and in
Judaism an institution to stir up men to hatred and
persecution. Thinking that he was surrounded by
bitter enemies, and feeling too weak for a fresh
conflict, he resolved to die, but at the same time to
take vengeance on his chief persecutor, his brother
(or cousin). To excite the sympathy of his contem-
poraries and posterity, he wrote his autobiography
and confession, which, however, contain no new
thoughts, only bitterness and furious attacks against
the Jews, intermingled with fresh aspersions of them
in the eyes of Christians : that even at this time
they would have crucified Jesus, and that the state
ought not to grant them freedom of religious pro-
fession. This document, drawn up amidst prepara-
tions for death, breathed nothing but revenge
against his enemies. After he had finished his im-
passioned testament, he loaded two pistols, and fired
one at his relative, who was passing his house. He
missed his aim, so he shut the door of his room, and
killed himself with the other weapon (April, 1640).
On opening his residence after the report of the
shot, they found on the table his autobiography,
"An Example of Human Life," in which he brought

CH. III. LEO MODENA. 65

Jews and Judaism to the bar, and with pathetic sen-
tences described them as his excited imagination in
the last hour suggested. By this act and legacy Da
Costa showed that he suffered himself to be over-
powered by his feelings rather than guided by rea-
son. He was neither a thinker nor a wise man, nor
was his a manly character. As his system of
thought was not well balanced, leading him to
oppose what existed as false and bad, because it
was in his way, he left no lasting impression. His
Jewish contemporaries persisted in stubborn silence
about him, as if they wished his memory to fall into
oblivion. He acted like a boy who breaks the win-
dows in an old decaying building, and thus creates a
draught.

The second seditious thinker of this time, Leo
(Judah) ben Isaac Modena (born 1571, died 1649),
was of another stamp, and was reared in different
surroundings. Leo Modena was descended from a
cultivated family which migrated to Modena, in
Italy, on the expulsion of the Jews from France,
and whose ancestors, from lack of intellectual clear-
ness, despite their education, fostered every kind of
superstition and fanciful idea.

Leo Modena possessed this family peculiarity in
a high degree. He was a marvelous child. In his
third year he could read a portion from the proph-
ets ; in his tenth, he delivered a sort of sermon ; in
his thirteenth, he wrote a clever dialogue on the
question of the lawfulness of playing with cards and
dice, and composed an elegy on the death of the
teacher of his youth, Moses Basula, in Hebrew and
Italian verses having the same sound — a mere
trifle, to be sure, but which at a riper age pleased
him so well that he had it printed. But the mar-
velous child did not develop into a marvelous man,
into a personage of prominence or distinction.
Modena became, however, the possessor of aston-
ishingly varied knowledge. As he pursued all sorts

66 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

of occupations to support himself, viz., those of
preacher, teacher of Jews and Christians, reader
of prayers, interpreter, writer, proof-reader, book-
seller, broker, merchant, rabbi, musician, match-
maker, and manufacturer of amulets, without ever
attaining to a fixed position, so he studied many
departments of knowledge without specially distin-
guishing himself in any. He grasped the whole of
biblical, Talmudic, and Rabbinic literature, was well
read in Christian theological works, understood
something of philosophy and physics, was able to
write Hebrew and Italian verses — in short, he had
read everything accessible through the medium of
three languages, Hebrew, Latin, and Italian. He
remembered what he read, for he possessed an ex-
cellent memory, invented a method of sharpening
it still more, and wrote a book on this subject. But
Leo Modena had no delight either in knowledge or
poetry ; neither had value for him except so far as
they brought bread. He preached, wrote books
and verses, translated and commented, all to earn
money, which he wasted in card-playing, a passion
which he theoretically considered most culpable, but
in practice could not overcome. At the age of sixty
he acquired property, but lost it more quickly than
he had acquired it, squandering 100 ducats in
scarcely a month, and twice as much in the following
year. Knowledge had not enlightened and elevated
him, had had no influence on his principles. Leo
Modena possessed neither genius nor character.
Dissatisfied with himself and his lot, in constant
disquiet on account of his fondness for gaming, and
battling with need, he became a prey to doubt.
Religion had no power over his heart ; he preached
to others, but not to himself. Unbelief and super-
stition waged continual war within him. He envied
naive believers, who, in their simplicity, are undis-
turbed by doubt, expect, and, as Leo added, obtain
happiness from scrupulously observing the ceremon-

CH. in. LEO MODENA'S FICKLENESS. 67

ies. Inquirers, on the other hand, are obliged to
struggle for their faith and the happiness dependent
upon it, and are tortured incessantly by pangs of
doubt. He had no real earnestness nor true con-
viction, or rather, according to his humor and mood,
he had a different one every day, without being a
hypocrite. Hence he could say of himself, " I do
not belong to the class of painted people, my out-
ward conduct always corresponds Avith my feelings."

Leo Modena was sincere at each moment. On
one day he broke a lance for the Talmud and Rab-
binical Judaism, on the next, condemned them
utterly. He disapproved of gaming, and grieved
that the stars had given him this unfortunate pro-
pensity, for he believed also in astrology ; yet he
prepared a Talmudical decision defending it.
When the Venetian college of rabbis pronounced
the ban on cards and dice, he pointed out that gam-
ing was permissible by Rabbinical principles, and
that the ban had no justification. His disciple,
Joseph Chamiz, a physician and mystic, once asked
him his opinion on the Kabbalistic transmigration of
souls. Modena replied that as a rule he would pro-
fess belief in the doctrine even though convinced of
its folly, in order not to be pronounced a heretic and
a fool, but to him he was willing to express his sin-
cere and true views. Thereupon Leo Modena pre-
pared a work to expose the absurdity and incon-
sistency with Judaism of the belief in transmigration
of souls. But so feebly was this conviction rooted
in his nature that, having had an extraordinary ex-
perience, he again, at least for a time, believed in
the transmigration of souls, a favorite theory of the
Kabbala.

The Ghetto of Venice must have been a totally
different place from that of Frankfort, or Prague, or
from the Polish-Jewish quarters, since it was possi-
ble for men like Leo Modena, with his peculiar
principles, and Simone Luzzatto, as little of a gen-

68 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

uine rabbi, to be members of the rabbinate. In the
largest Italian community next to that of Rome,
consisting of 6,000 souls, there were cultivated Jews
interested in Italian and general European culture,
and enjoying not only social, but also literary inter-
course with Christian society. The walls of the
Ghetto formed no partition between the Jewish and
the Christian population. At this time, in the age
of Shakespeare, there was no Shylock, certainly not
in Venice, who would have stipulated as payment
for his loan a pound of flesh from his Christian
debtor. The people properly so called, workmen,
sailors, and porters, precisely in Venice, were milder
and more friendly towards Jews than in other Chris-
tian cities. Jewish manufacturers employed 4,000
Christian workmen in the lagoon city, so that their
existence depended on their Jewish employers alone.
At the time of a devastating pestilence, when, even
in this well policed city, the reins of government
became slacker and looser, and threatened to fall
from the hands of those in power, Jewish capitalists
voluntarily offered their money to the state to
prevent embarrassment. There were not a few
among them who vied with the cultivated classes
among the Christians in the elegant use of the
Italian language in speaking and writing, and in
making good verses. Besides the two rabbis, Leo
Modena and Simone Luzzatto, two Jewish poetesses,
Deborah Ascarelli and Sarah Copia Sullam, are
illustrations thereof. The first, the wife of Joseph
Ascarelli, a respected Venetian, translated Hebrew
hymns into elegant Italian strophes, and also com-
posed original verses. A Jewish-Italian poet ad-
dressed her in verses thus : " Others may sing of
great trophies, thou glorifiest thy people."

The graceful and spiritual Sarah Copia (born
about 1600, died 1641) excited a certain amount of
attention in her time. She was an original poetess
and thinker, and her gifts, as w.ejl as her grace,

CH. III. SARAH SULLAM. 69

brought her temptations and dangers. The only
child of a wealthy father, Simon Copia (Coppio) in
Venice, who loved her tenderly, she yielded to her
inclination for instruction, and devoted herself to
science and literature. To this inclination she
remained true even after her marriage with Jacob
Sullam. Sarah Copia Sullam surpassed her sex and
even men of her age in knowledge. She delighted
in beauty, and breathed out her inspirations in
rhythmic, elegant verses. Young, attractive, with a
noble heart and a penetrating understanding, striving
after high ideals, and a favorite of the muses, Sarah
Sullam fascinated the old as well as the young.
Her musical, well-trained voice excited admiration.
When an elderly Italian priest, Ansaldo Ceba, at
Genoa, published an heroic poem in Italian strophes,
of which the scriptural Esther was the heroine, Sarah
was so delighted, that she addressed an enthusiastic
anonymous letter full of praise to the author (161 8).
It pleased her to see a Jewish heroine, her ideal,
celebrated in verses, and the attention of the culti-
vated public directed to Jewish antiquity. She
hoped that thereby the prejudice against the Jews
of the day would vanish. Sarah did not conceal
from the poet that she always carried his poetical
creations about with her, and at night put his book
under her pillow. Instead of finding satisfaction in
the sincere homage of a pure woman's soul, Ceba,
in his zeal for conversion, thought only of bringing
her over to Christianity. When he heard Sarah's
beauty extolled by the servant whom he sent with
presents and verses, love for her awoke in him.
This was increased by her sending him her portrait,
accompanied by enthusiastic verses in the exaggera-
ted style of that time, in which she said : " I carry
my idol in my heart, and I wish everyone to worship
him." But the beautiful Venetian Jewess did not
allow herself to be entrapped. She held firmly to
her Jewish beliefs, and unfolded to her priestly friend

70 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. in.

the reasons that induced her to prefer Judaism. In
vain did Ceba, by tenderness, reproofs, and senti-
mental languishing, with intimations of his speedy
end, and his longing to be united with her in heaven,
endeavor to make her waver in her conviction.
When he begged permission to pray for her salva-
tion, she granted his request on condition that she
might pray for his conversion to Judaism.

Her exceptional position as poetess, and her con-
nection with Christians of high rank, brought her
renown, not unattended by annoyances. Slander-
ous fellow-believers spread the report, that she
esteemed the principles of Judaism but lightly,
and did not fully believe in their divinity. An
unprincipled Christian priest, Balthasar Bonifaccio,
who later occupied the position of bishop, published
a work accusing the Jewess Sarah Sullam of deny-
ing the immortality of the soul. Such a charge
might in Catholic Venice have had other effects than
that against Uriel da Costa in free-thinking, Pro-
testant Amsterdam. Not merely fine and imprison-
ment might have been inflicted, but the Inquisition
might have sentenced her to the dungeon, to torture,
and perhaps even the stake. Hardly recovered
from illness, she wrote (1621) a manifesto on the
immortality of the soul, full of ripe dialectics, noble
courage, and crushing force, against her slanderous
accuser. The dedication to her deceased father is
touching, and still more touching is her fervent
psalm-like prayer in melodious Italian verses. The
consciousness that she, a woman and Jewess, could
not rely on her own strength, but only on help from
above, spreads a halo about her memory. The end
of this affair is not known. Ceba's epic " Esther "
probably induced Leo Modena to translate Solomon
Usque's tragedy on the same subject from Spanish
into Italian verse ; he dedicated it to Sarah Copia,
whose epitaph he composed in melodious Hebrew
verses.

CH. III. LEO MODENA AND CHRISTIANS. /I

Leo Modena also had frequent intercourse with
Christians. His peculiar nature, his communicative
disposition, and great learning, as also his wit and
his fondness for gaming, opened the doors of Chris-
tian circles to the volatile rabbi. Christian disciples
sat at his feet. The French bishop Jacob Plantavi-
cius, and the half-crazed Christian Kabbalist Jacob
Gaffarelli, were his pupils. Nobles and learned
men corresponded with him, and permitted him to
inscribe his works to them with flattering dedica-
tions. Leo Modena held in Italy nearly the same
position as Manasseh ben Israel in Holland. In the
conversation of serious men and in the merry circle
of gamesters, he often heard the ceremonies of
Judaism ridiculed as childish nonsense (Lex Judae-
orum lex puerorum). At first he defended his
religion, but gradually was forced to admit one thing
and another in Judaism to be defective and ridic-
ulous ; he was ashamed to be so thoroughly a Jew
as to justify all consequences. His necessities led
him, on pressure from Christian friends, to render
single portions, and at last the whole, of the Jewish
code accessible to the Christian public in the Italian
language. An English lord paid him for the work,
with the intention of giving it to King James I, who
made pretensions to extensive learning. After-
wards his Christian disciple Gaffarelli had this work,
entitled "The Hebrew Rites," printed in Paris, and
dedicated it to the French ambassador at Venice.
In this work, eagerly read by Christians, Leo Mo-
dena, like Ham, uncovered his father's nakedness,
exposed the inner sanctuary of the Jews to prying
and mocking eyes. To the uninitiated, that which
within the Jewish circle was a matter for reverence
could not but appear petty, silly, and absurd. Leo
Modena explained what ceremonies and statutes
Jews employ in connection with their dwellings,
clothing, household furniture, up-rising and lying
down, physical functions, and in the synagogues and

72 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

schools. Involuntarily the author associated himself
with the despisers of Judaism, which he as rabbi had
practiced and taught. He showed that he was con-
scious of this :

"While writing I in fact forgot that I am a Jew, and considered
myself a simple, impartial narrator. However, I do not deny that I
have taken pains to avoid ridicule on account of the numerous cere-
monies, but I had no intention to defend and palliate, because I wished
only to communicate, not convince."

However, it would be an error to infer from this
that Leo Modena had at heart completely broken
with Rabbinical Judaism. He was, as has been
stated, not a man of firm and lasting convictions.
Almost at the same time when he exposed the rites
of Judaism to the Christian public, he composed a
defense of them and oral teaching in general against
attacks from the Jewish side. A Hamburg Jew of
Marrano descent had raised eleven points to show
the falsehood of Talmudic tradition. Of these
arguments some are important, others frivolous.
The Hamburg sceptic laid chief stress on the point
that Talmudic and Rabbinic ordinances are addi-
tions to Pentateuchal Judaism, and the Pentateuch
had expressly forbidden additions of this sort. At
the wish of certain Portuguese Jews, Leo Modena
confuted these objections, raised by a sciolist. His
confutation was a feeble performance, and contains
nothing new. With Leo Modena one never knew
whether he was earnest in his belief or his unbelief.
As in youth he had brought forward reasons for and
against games of chance, had finally condemned
them, and nevertheless freely engaged in them, so
he behaved with regard to Talmudical Judaism.
He attacked it, defended it, made it appear ridicu-
lous, and yet practiced it with a certain degree of
honesty.

Some years after his vindication of Talmudical
Judaism against the Hamburg sceptic he composed
the best work (1624) that issued from his active

CH. III. LEO MODENA AND TALMUDICAL JUDAISM. 73

pen. On the one side it was a weighty attack on
Rabbinical Judaism, such as had hardly been made
even by Christians and Karaites, on the other side,
an impressive defense of it. He did not venture
to put his own name to the heavy charges against
Judaism, but used a fictitious name. The part
which contains the attacks he called " The Fool's
Voice " (Kol Sachal), and the defense, " The Roar-
ing of the Lion " (Shaagath Aryeh). Leo Modena
allotted to two characters his own duplex nature,
his varying convictions. He makes the opponent
of Judaism express himself with a boldness such as
Uriel da Costa might have envied. Not only did
he undermine the Rabbinical Judaism of the Talmud,
but also biblical Judaism, the Sinaitic revelation, and
the Torah. But the blows which Leo Modena,
under the name of Ibn-Raz of Alkala, in an attack
of unbelief, inflicted on oral teaching, or Talmudical
Judaism, were most telling.

He premises that no form of religion maintains
itself in its original state and purity according to the
views of its founder. Judaism, also, although the
lawgiver expressly warned his followers against
adding anything, had many additions thrust upon it.
Interpretation and comment had altered many
things in it. Ibn-Raz (or Leo Modena in his unbe-
lieving mood) examines with a critical eye Jacob
Asheri's code, and at each point marks the additions
made by the rabbis to the original code, and where
they had weakened and distorted it. He goes so
far as to make proposals how to clear Judaism of
excrescences, in order to restore genuine, ancient,
biblical, spiritual Judaism. This was the first at-
tempt at reform : a simplification of the prayers and
synagogue service, abolition of rites, omission of the
second day of the festivals, relaxation of Sabbath,
festival, Passover, and even Day of Atonement laws.
Every one was to fast only according to his bodily
and spiritual powers. He wished to see the ritual

74 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

for slaughtering' animals and the laws as to food set
aside, or simplified. The prohibition to drink wine
with those of other creeds made Jews ridiculous, as
also did the strictness against alleged idolatry. All
this, observed Ibn-Raz, or Leo Modena, at the
close, does not exhaust the subject ; it is only a
specimen of the evil of Rabbinical Judaism. He
knew well that he would be pronounced a heretic,
and persecuted on account of his frank criticism,
but if he could open the eyes of a single reader, he
would consider himself amply rewarded.

Had Leo Modena been in earnest with this bold
view, which would have revolutionized the Judaism
of his day, had he uttered it to the world with deep
conviction, he would no doubt have produced great
commotion in Judaism. But criticism of the Talmud
was only mental amusement for him ; he did not
intend to engage in an actual conflict. He com-
posed a reply with as little sincerity, and let both
attack and defense slumber among his papers.

Leo Modena was more in earnest with the attack
on the Kabbala, which had become burdensome and
repulsive to him. He felt impelled to discharge
destructive arrows against it, and this he did with
masterly skill. He called the anti-Kabbalistic work,
which he dedicated to his disciple Joseph Chamiz,
a Luryan enthusiast, "The Roaring Lion" (Ari
Noham). From many sides he threw light on the
deceptions, the absurdity, and the falsehood of the
Kabbala and its fundamental source, the Zohar.
Neither this work nor his attacks on Talmudical
Judaism were published by him : the author was not
anxious to labor in either direction. To a late age
he continued his irregular life, without striving after
real improvement. Leo Modena died, weary of the
conflict, not with gods (i. e., ideas) and men, but
with himself, and of the troubles which he had
brought upon himself.

Apparently similar, yet differing fundamentally

CH. III. JOSEPH DELMEDIGO. 75

from him, was the third burrower of this period :
Joseph Solomon Delmedigo (born 1591, died 1655).
Scion of an old and noble family, in whose midst
science and the Talmud were cultivated, and great-
grandson on the female side of the clear thinker
Elias del Medigo, he but slightly resembled the
other members of his house. His father, a rabbi in
Candia, had not only initiated him into Talmudic
literature, but also made him learn Greek. Later
Delmedigo acquired the literary languages of the
time, Italian and Spanish in addition to Latin. The
knowledge of languages, however, was only a means
to an end. At the University of Padua he obtained
his scientific education ; he showed decided inclina-
tion for mathematics and astronomy, and could
boast of having as his tutor the great Galileo, the
discoverer of the laws of the heavens, the martyr to
natural science. By him he was made acquainted
with the Copernican system of the sun and the
planets. Neither Delmedigo nor any believing Jew
labored under the delusion that the stability of the
sun and the motion of the earth were in contradic-
tion to the Bible, and therefore heretical. Del-
medigo also studied medicine, but only as a pro-
fession ; his favorite subject continued to be math-
ematics. He enriched his mind with all the treas-
ures of knowledge, more varied even than that of
Leo Modena, to whom during his residence in Italy
he clung as a disciple to his master. In the circle
of Jewish-Italian semi-freethinkers he lost the simple
faith which he had brought from home, and doubts
as to the truth of tradition stole upon him, but he
was not sufficiently animated by a desire for truth
either to overcome these doubts and become settled
in the early belief to which he had been brought up,
or unsparingly to expose the false elements in Jew-
ish tradition. Joseph Delmedigo was as little
formed to be a martyr to his convictions as Leo
Modena, the latter by reason of fickleness, the
former, of insincerity.

76 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

With doubt in his heart he returned to his home
in Candia, and gave offense by his free mode of
thought, especially by his preference for secular
knowledge. He made enemies, who are said to
have persecuted him, and was obliged to leave his
native land. Then began a migratory life, which
drove him from city to city, like his model Ibn-Ezra.
Like him, he made friends with the Karaites
wherever he met them, and they thronged to his
presence. At Cairo Delmedigo celebrated a com-
plete triumph with his mathematical knowledge,
when an old Mahometan teacher of mathematics, AH
Ibn-Rahmadan, challenged him, a youth, to a public
combat, in which AH was beaten. The victorious
combatant was magnanimous enough to show honor
to AH before the world. Instead of betaking him-
self to Palestine as he had intended, Delmedigo
traveled to Constantinople ; here also he attached
himself to the circle of the Karaites, and at last
passed through Wallachia and Moldavia to Poland.
There, mathematics procuring him no bread, he
practiced medicine, of which, however, he had learnt
more from books than by the bedside of patients.
In Poland he passed for a great physician, and was
taken into the service of Prince Radziwill, in Wilna
(about 1619-1620). Here, through the excessive
attention given to the Talmud, general culture was
forsaken, but youths and men eager for learning,
especially Karaites, thronged to Delmedigo to slake
their thirst for knowledge. A half-crazed Karaite,
Serach ben Nathan of Trok, who had an inclination
to Rabbinical Judaism, in order to sho.w his exten-
sive knowledge, with mock humility laid before him
a number of important questions, which Delmedigo
was to answer offhand, and sent him a sable fur for
the Polish winter.

Delmedigo found it to his advantage, in order to
give himself the appearance of a distinguished char-
acter in Poland, to shroud himself in silence and

CH. III. DELMEDIGO IN POLAND. 77

seclusion. Heat first answered Serach's questions
not personally, but through one of his companions,
an assistant and follower, Moses Metz. This man
described his teacher as a choice intellect, a demi-
god, who carried in his brain all human and divine
knowledge. He sketched his appearance and
character, his occupation and behavior, regulated,
as he said, by higher wisdom, gave information
about his descent from a learned and distinguished
family on his father's and his mother's side, and, as
his teacher's mouth-piece, imposed upon the credu-
lous Karaite by saying that he had composed works
on all branches of knowledge, at which the world
would be astonished, if they came to light. Metz
also communicated to Serach some of his teacher's
theories in mathematics, religion, and philosophy,
and thus still more confused Serach's mind. In his
communications on Judaism, which Delmedigo either
made himself or through Moses Metz, he was very
cautious ; here and there, it is true, he allowed a
suggestion of unbelief to glimmer through, but
quickly covered it over with a haze of orthodoxy.
Only where he could do so without danger Del-
medigo expressed his real opinion.

When he at last sent the Karaite an answer to a
letter with his own hand (about 1621), he did not
conceal his true views, but declared his preference
for Karaism and its ancient teachers, loaded them
undeservedly with praise, exalted science, and ridi-
culed the delusions of the Kabbala audits adherents.
In the same letter to Serach, Delmedigo indulged
in scoffs against the Talmud, and thought the Kara-
ites fortunate that they were able to dispense with
it. He had nothing to fear when he unburdened
his heart before his Karaite admirer.

Delmedigo does not seem, on the whole, to have
been at ease in Poland. He could not carouse with
the nobles whom he attended professionally for fear
of the Jews, and it was not possible to earn money

78 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

in so poor a country. So he betook himself by way
of Dantzic to Hamburg, where a Portuguese com-
munity had been lately permitted to settle. His
knowledge of medicine seems to have met with little
esteem in the city on the Elbe. What was his skill
in comparison with that of the De Castros, father
and son ? He was compelled, in order to subsist,
to undertake a certain amount of rabbinical duty, if
only as preacher. For the sake of bread he had
to play the hypocrite, and speak in favor of Rabbin-
ical Judaism. Nay, in order to dissipate the rumor
from Poland, which represented him as a heretic, he
was not ashamed to praise the Kabbala, which he
had shortly before condemned, as the highest wis-
dom, before which philosophy and all sciences must
be dumb. For this purpose he prepared his defense
of the secret doctrine, in refutation of the crushing
arguments against it by one of his ancestors, Elias
Del Medigo. His work was of the kind to throw
dust in the eyes of the ignorant multitude ; it dis-
played a smattering of learning on all sorts of sub-
jects, but no trace of logic. He was too clever to
maintain the sheepish style of dull, stupid credulity,
and could not refrain from satire. He defended the
genuineness of the Zohar as an ancient work by
Simon bar Yochai, or at least by his school. He
argued that one must not be shocked by its many
incongruities and absurdities ; the Talmud also con-
tains not a few, and is yet a sacred book. To save
his reputation with the more intelligent, Delmedigo
intimated that he had defended the Kabbala only
from necessity. We must not, he says, superficially
judge the character of an author by his words. He,
for instance, was writing this defense of the Kabbala
at the desire of a patron of high position, who was
enamored of it. Should this friend come to be of
another mind, and require an attack upon the Kab-
bala, he would not refuse him. In conclusion, he
observes that philosophical students would no doubt

CH. III. DELMEDIGO IN AMSTERDAM. 79

ridicule him for having turned his back on wisdom,
and betaken himself to folly ; but he would rather
be called a fool all his life than for a single hour
transgress against piety.

This work, commenced in Hamburg, Delmedigo
could not finish there. A pestilence broke out, and
drove him, physician though he was, to Gliickstadt.
In this small community, where, as he said, there
was neither town (Stadt) nor luck (Gluck), he could
find no means of subsistence, and he traveled on to
Amsterdam about 1629. He could not attempt to
practice medicine in a city where physicians lived
of even higher eminence than at Hamburg, and so
was obliged a second time to apply himself to the
functions of rabbi. To show his importance, he
printed his scientific replies to the questions of his
Polish admirers, with the fulsome eulogies, clouds of
incense, and foolish homage which the young Kara-
ite Serach had offered him. It is a work of truly
Polish disorder, in which mathematical theorems and
scientific problems are discussed by the side of phil-
osophical and theological questions, in a confused
way. Delmedigo took care not to print his attacks
upon the Kabbala and the Talmud, and his prefer-
ence for the Karaites — in short, all that he had
written to please the rich Serach. Instead of pub-
lishing an encyclopaedic work which he boastfully
said he had composed in his earliest youth, and
which embraced all sciences and solved all questions,
he produced a mere medley.

The Amsterdam community was then full of
suspicion against philosophy and culture owing to
the reckless behavior of Da Costa, and therefore
Delmedigo thought it advisable to ward off every
suspicion of unbelief, and get a reputation for strictest
orthodoxy. This transparent hypocrisy did not
answer well. He was, it is true, appointed preacher,
and partially rabbi, in or near Amsterdam, but he
could remain in Holland only a few years. Poor

80 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

and unstable as he was, he went with his wife to
Frankfort-on-the-Main about 1630 to seek means
of subsistence. But here, in a German community,
where Rabbinical learning was diffused, he could
not obtain a rabbinical office ; but he could turn his
medical knowledge, scanty as it was, to account.
As he felt no vocation for the office of rabbi, nor for
medical practice, it was a matter of indifference if
he changed the preacher's gown for the doctor's
mantle. He was engaged, under irksome condi-
tions, as communal doctor (February 14, 1631).
How long he remained at Frankfort is not known ;
his position cannot have been favorable, for he re-
moved to Prague (about 1648-1650), and in this
most neglected community he settled. Later (1652)
he was at Worms, probably only temporarily, and
ended his life, which had promised so much, and
realized so little, at Prague. Nor did he publish
any part of his great work, which he had announced
with so much pomposity.

In a measure Simone (Simcha) Luzzatto (born
about 1590, died 1663) maybe reckoned among the
sceptics of this time. He was, at the same time as
Leo Modena, rabbi in Venice. Luzzatto was not
an eminent personage ; but he had more solidity
than his colleague Modena, or than Delmedigo.
By the latter, who knew him personally, he was
praised as a distinguished mathematician. He was
also well read in ancient and modern literature.
His uprightness and love of truth, which he never
belied, distinguished him more than his knowledge
and learning. A parable which Luzzatto wrote in
Italian in his youth shows his views, as also his
maturity of thought, and that he had reflected early
on the relation of faith to science. He puts his
thoughts into the mouth of Socrates, the father of
Greek wisdom. At Delphi an academy had been
formed to rectify the errors of human knowledge.
Reason immediately presented a petition from the

CH. III. SIMONE LUZZATTO. 8 1

dungeon, where she had been so long kept by ortho-
dox authority, to be set at liberty. Although the
chief representatives of knowledge, Pythagoras and
Aristotle, spoke against this request, and uttered a
warning against her liberation, because, when free,
she would produce and spread abroad most frightful
errors, yet the academy set her at liberty ; for by
that means alone could knowledge be promoted.
But the newly liberated minds caused great mis-
chief ; and the academicians were at a loss what to
do. Then Socrates rose, and in a long speech
explained that reason and authority, if allowed to
reign alone, would produce only errors and mischief;
but if mutually limited, reason by revelation, and
revelation by reason, they mingle in the right pro-
portion, and produce beautiful harmony, whereby
man may attain his goal here below and hereafter.
This thought, that reason and faith must regulate
and keep watch over each other, which, in Maimuni's
time had passed into a commonplace, was at this
period, under the rule of Lurya's Kabbala, con-
sidered in Jewish circles a bold innovation.

Simone Luzzatto did not suffer himself to be en-
snared by Kabbalistic delusions ; he did not cast
reason behind him ; he was a believer, but withal
sober-minded. He did not share the delusion of
Manasseh ben Israel and others that the lost tribes
of Israel were existing in some part of the world
enjoying independence as a military power. With
sober Jewish inquirers of former times, he assumed
that Daniel's revelation does not point to a future
Messiah, but only reflects historical events. He
composed a work on the manners and beliefs of the
Jews, which he proposed to exhibit " faithfully to
truth, without zeal and passion." It was probably
designed to form a counterpart to Leo Modena's
representation, which cast a shadow on Judaism.

Luzzatto's defense of Judaism and the Jews,
under the title " A Treatise on the Position of the

82 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

Hebrews," is masterly. It speaks eloquently for
his practical, sober sense, for his love of truth, his
attachment to Judaism, and his solid knowledge.
He did not wish to dedicate it to any individual
patron out of flattery, but to the friends of truth in
general. He conjured these friends not to esteem
the remnant of the ancient Hebrew nation, even if
disfigured by sufferings, and saddened by long op-
pression, more lightly than a mutilated work of art
by Phidias or Lysippus, since all men were agreed
that this nation was once animated and led by the
greatest of Masters. It is astonishing what thorough
knowledge the rabbi had of the commerce of that
time, and the influence upon it of the political posi-
tion of European and neighboring Asiatic states.
The object of his defense was primarily to disarm
the ill-will of certain Venetian patricians against the
Jews in that strictly governed state. The common
people had little antipathy to the Jews ; they lived
to some extent on them. But among those who
had a share in the government there were fanatical
religious zealots and envious opponents, who advo-
cated further restrictions, or even banishment. It
did not suit them that the Venetian Jews, who, shut
up in the Ghetto, possessed neither land nor the
right to carry on a handicraft, competed with them
in finance and trade. The commercial city of
Venice, far surpassed by the new naval powers,
Holland and England, which had gradually obtained
control of the trade with the Levant, saw many of
its great houses of business in splendid misery, while
new Jewish capitalists stepped into their place, and
seized the Levantine business. With artful turns and
delicate hints, Luzzatto gave the politicians of Venice
to understand that exhaustion was hastening the
downfall of the republic. The prosperous cared
only to keep what they had acquired and for enjoy-
ment, and former Venetian commerce seemed to be
falling into the hands of foreigners, Hence the

CH. III. JEWISH CHARACTERISTICS. 83

Jews had become a blessing to the state. It was
more advisable to leave its extensive trade, especi-
ally that of the East, to native Jews, and to protect
them, than to see it diverted to neighboring- towns,
or to strangers, who formed a state within the state,
were not always obedient to the laws, and gradually
carried the ready money out of the country. Luz-
zatto calculated from statistics that the Jews contrib-
uted more than 250,000 ducats to the republic every
year, that they gave bread to 4,000 workpeople,
supplied home manufactures at a cheap rate, and
obtained goods from distant countries. It was
reserved for a rabbi to bring this political-economical
consideration, of vital importance for the island
republic, to the notice of wise councilors. Luzzatto
also called attention to the important advantage
which the capital of the Jews had recently been,
when, during the pestilence and the dissolution of
political government, the Jews had spontaneously
offered money to the state to prevent embarrass-
ment.

Luzzatto also defended the Jews against attacks
on the religious side, but on this point his exposition
is not original. If he brought out the brieht traits

/* • *^ ^^ ^^

of his Jewish contemporaries, he by no means
passed over their dark ones in silence, and that
redounds to his credit. Luzzatto depicted them
in the following manner. However different may
be the manner of Venetian Jews from their brethren
in Constantinople, Damascus, Germany, or Poland,
they all have something in common : —

" It is a nation of timid and unmanly disposition, at present incap-
able of political government, occupied only with its separate interests,
and caring little about the public welfare. The economy of the Jews
borders on avarice ; they are admirers of antiquity, and have no eye
for the present course of things. Many are uneducated, without
taste for learning or the knowledge of languages, and, in following
the laws of their religion, they exaggerate to the most painful degree.
But they have also noteworthy peculiarities — firmness and endurance
in their religion, uniformity of doctrinal teaching in the long course
of more than fifteen centuries since the dispersion ; wonderful stead-
fastness, which leads them, if not to go into dangers, yet to endure

84 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. III.

the severest suffering. They possess knowledge of Holy Scripture
and its exposition, gentleness and hospitality to the members of their
race — the Persian Jew in some degree suffers the wrongs of the Ital-
ian—strict abstinence from carnal offenses, extraordinary carefulness
to keep the family unspotted, and skill in managing difficult matters.
They are submissive and yielding to everyone, only not to their breth-
ren in religion. The failings of the Jews have rather the character
of cowardice and meanness than of cruelty and atrocity."

What Luzzatto's position was with regard to the
Talmud he did not distinctly state, but only ex-
plained generally that there are three or four classes
of Jews : Talmudists or Rabbanites, who hold the
oral law of equal authority with the Bible ; secondly,
a philosophical and cultured class ; and, lastly, Kab-
balists, and Karaites. Yet he intimated that he
held the Talmudical tradition to be true ; whilst he
considered the Kabbala as not of Jewish, but of Pla-
tonic, Pythagorean, and Gnostic origin. One of his
disciples relates of him that he ridiculed the Kab-
balists, and thought their theory had no claim to the
title of tradition ; it was wanting in the Holy Spirit.

These four thinkers, more or less dissatisfied
with the Judaism of the day, who were furnished
with so much intellect, knowledge, and eloquence,
yet exerted very little influence over their Jewish
contemporaries, and thus did not break through the
prevailing obscurity in the smallest degree. Luz-
zatto wrote for only a limited class of readers, and
did not inflict, or wish to inflict, heavy blows on
Judaism. Uriel da Costa missed his mark on ac-
count of his violent, impatient disposition ; Leo
Modena was himself too wavering, driven hither
and thither by the wind of conflicting opinions, to
acquire serious convictions and do battle for them.
His attacks on the weak side of Judaism, as has
been stated, were made in private. Joseph Del-
medigo did more harm than good through his insin-
cerity and hypocrisy. Lacking character, he sank
so low as to speak in favor of the confused doctrines
of the Kabbala, and by the weight of his knowledge
confirmed and increased the delusion of the multi-

CH. III. JUDAISM ATTACKED. 85

tude. But from two other quarters, by two quite
opposite characters, weighty blows against Judaism
were delivered, threatening completely to shatter it.
Reason incorporated, as it were, in one Jew, and
unreason incarnate in another, joined hands to treat
Judaism as abolished and dissolved, and, so to
speak, to dethrone the God of Israel.

CHAPTER IV.

SPINOZA AND SABBATA'i ZEVI

Spinoza's Youth and Education — His Intellectual Breach with Juda-
ism— Fresh Martyrs of the Inquisition — The Rabbis and Spinoza
— Excommunication — Spinoza's "Tractate" and " Ethics "-
Spinoza's Writings Concerning Judaism — Spinoza's Contem-
poraries in Amsterdam — De Paz and Penso — The Mystical
Character of the Years 1648 and 1666 — Sabbata'i Zevi's early
Career— The Jerusalem Community — Sabbata'i's Travels —
Nathan Ghazati — Sabbata'i announced in Smyrna as the Mes-
siah— Spread of Enthusiastic Belief in the pseudo-Messiah —
Manoel Texeira — Ritual Changes introduced by the Sab-
batians— Sabbata'i proceeds to Constantinople — Nehemiah Cohen
— Sabbata'i Zevi's Apostasy to Islam and its Consequences — Con-
tinuation of the Sabbatian Movement— Death of Sabbata'i and
Spinoza — Results of the Sabbatian Imposture.

1656 — 1677 c. E.

WHILST Manasseh ben Israel was zealously laboring
to complete the fabric of Judaism by hastening on
the Messianic era, one of his disciples was applying
an intellectual lever to destroy this edifice to its
foundation and convert it into a shapeless dust
heap. He was earnest about what was only amuse-
ment for Leo Modena. The Jewish race once
more brought a deep thinker into the world, one
who was radically to heal the human mind of its
rooted perversities and errors, and to prescribe a
new direction for it, that it might better comprehend
the connection between heaven and earth, between
mind and matter. Like his ancestor Abraham, this
Jewish thinker desired to break to pieces all idols
and vain images, before which men had hitherto

<^

bowed down through fear, custom, and indolence,
and to reveal to them a new God, not enthroned in
heaven's height beyond their reach, but living and
moving within them, whose temple they themselves
should be. His influence was like that of the storm,

86

CH. IV. BARUCH SPINOZA. 8/

deafening and crushing down, but also purifying and
refreshing.

The lightning flashes of this great philosophical
genius did greatest injury to Judaism which was
nearest to him. In the degradation of the religion
of his day and its professors, even his searching
gaze could not recognize the fair form concealed
beneath a loathsome exterior.

This great thinker, the most famous philosopher
of his time, who brought about a new redemption,
was Baruch Spinoza (really Espinosa, born in Spain
1632, died 1677). He belonged to a family eminent
for neither intellect nor wealth. No sign at his birth
portended that he would reign for more than two
centuries a king in the realm of thought. With
many other boys, he attended the Jewish school,
consisting of seven classes, recently established in
Amsterdam, whither his parents had migrated.
With his extraordinary talents he surely kept pace
with the requirements of the school, if he did not
exceed them. In his thirteenth or fourteenth year
he was probably introduced by Manasseh ben Israel
to the study of the Talmud, and initiated into
Hebrew grammar, rhetoric, and poetry. He re-
ceived final instruction in Rabbinical lore from Saul
Morteira, the greatest Talmudist of his time in Am-
sterdam. Together with Spinoza Morteira taught
others who later had more or less influence on Jew-
ish history, but were of quite another stamp.

Moses Zacut (1630-1697), a descendant of the
famous family of that name, was held to be Mor-
teira's first disciple. From his youth upwards, with
his predilection for mysticism and poetry, he formed
a direct contrast to Spinoza. He loved what was
inexact and obscure, Spinoza the clear and definite.
Two incidents may serve to portray Moses Zacut.
He was asked when young what he thought of the
fabulous narratives of Rabba Bar-Bar-Chana in the
Talmud, which are like those of Miinchhausen, and he

88 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

replied that he regarded them as historical. When
young he learned Latin like most Portuguese youths
in Amsterdam. Later, he so regretted having learned
that language, that he fasted forty days in order to
forget it, because, as he thought, this tongue of the
devil was not compatible with Kabbalistic truth.
Another fellow-disciple of Spinoza was Isaac Naar
(Nahar), likewise a mystic, and of a spiteful and not
over-scrupulous nature.

Thirst for knowledge stimulated Spinoza to ven-
ture beyond the limited circle of studies pursued in
Morteira's lecture-room. He plunged into the
writings of older Jewish thinkers, three of whom
alike attracted and repelled him : Ibn-Ezra with his
free-thinking and his reticence, Moses Maimuni with
his artificial system, aiming at the reconciliation of
faith and science, of Judaism and philosophy, and
Chasdai Crescas with his hostility to traditional phil-
osophy. Spinoza was also at home in the Kabbala,
the main doctrines of which had been rendered ac-
cessible through Abraham de Herrera and Isaac
Aboab. These various elements heaved and fer-
mented in his mind, which strove for insight, and
excited in his breast tormenting doubts, to which
Ibn-Ezra's covert unbelief mainly contributed. A
youth of fifteen, Spinoza is said to have expressed
his doubts in the form of questions to his master
Morteira, which may have not a little perplexed a
rabbi accustomed to beaten tracks. To these ele-
ments of scepticism, conveyed to him from Jewish
literature, others were added from without. Spinoza
learned Latin, in itself nothing remarkable, since, as
has been remarked, nearly all the Jewish youths of
Amsterdam, as well as Christians of the educated
classes of Holland, regarded that language as a
means of culture. But he was not contented with
superficial knowledge ; he desired to drink deep of
classical literature. He sought the instruction of an
eminent philologist of his time, Dr. Franz van den

CH. iv. SPINOZA'S STUDIES. 89

Enden, who lectured in Amsterdam to noble youths,
native and foreign. Here he learned, in contact
with educated Christian youths, to adopt a different
point of view from that which obtained in Morteira's
lecture-room and in Jewish circles. Van den Enden
also strongly influenced his mind. Though not an
atheist, he was a man of sceptical and satirical vein,
who turned religious customs and prejudices to ridi-
cule, and exposed their weaknesses. But what
with him was the object of humor and wit, excited
Spinoza's susceptible and analytical mind to deep
reflection and meditation. The natural sciences,
mathematics, and physics, which he pursued with
devotion, and the new-born, imposing philosophy of
Descartes (Cartesius), for which his mind had
special affinity, extended his circle of vision and
enlightened his judgment. The more he imbibed
ideas from various sources, assimilating them with
those innate in him, and the more his logical under-
standing developed, the more did he become alien-
ated from Judaism, in its Rabbinical and Kabbalistic
trappings, and love of Van den Enden's learned
daughter was not needed to make him a pervert
from Jewish belief.

Independent, judicial reason, which disregards
what is traditional or hallowed by time, and follows
its own laws, was his mistress. To her he dedicated
pure, undivided worship, and she led him to break
with inherited views. All that cannot be justified
before the inexorable tribunal of clear human vision,
passed with him for superstition and clouded
thought, if not actual frenzy. His ardent desire for
truth, pure truth and certainty, led him to a com-
plete breach with the religion endeared to him from
childhood ; he not only rejected Talmudical Judaism,
but also regarded the Bible as the work of man.
The apparent contradictions in the books of Holy
Scripture appear to have first raised his doubts as
to their inspiration. It must have cost him a hard

gO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

struggle to give up the customs and opinions en-
deared to him through manifold ties, and to become,
to a certain extent, a new man. For Spinoza was
quite as much a moral character as a deep thinker.
To hold anything as false in theory, and yet from
fear, custom, or advantage to adopt it in practice
was impossible for him. He was differently consti-
tuted to his revered master Descartes, who kept
away from the church the torch of truth which he
had kindled, made a gap between theory and prac-
tice to avoid offending that church, and, for example,
vowed a pilgrimage to our Lady of Loretto for the
success of his system and its destructive tendency.
According to Spinoza's idea every action ought to
be a true reflection of reason. When he could no
longer find truth in Judaism, he could not bring him-
self to follow its ritual precepts. He ceased to at-
tend the synagogue, cared no longer for the Sabbath
and the festivals, and broke the laws concerning
diet. He did not confine himself to the renunciation
of Judaism, but imparted his convictions to young
men who sought his instruction.

The representatives of the community of Amster-
dam were the more concerned at the daily increas-
ing report of Spinoza's estrangement from, and
hostility to Judaism, as they had in a measure looked
upon the gifted youth as their exponent, and as a
firm support to the jeopardized religion of their
fathers. Now it was to be feared that he would
abandon it, go over to Christianity, and devote his
intellectual gifts to doing battle against his mother-
faith. Could the representatives of that faith, the
college of rabbis and the secular heads of the
community, behold with indifference this systematic
neglect of Judaism in their midst ? Fugitives were
ever coming from Spain and Portugal, who forfeited
their high position, and staked life and property, to
remain true to Judaism. Others with unbending
attachment to the faith of their fathers, let them-

CH. IV. MARRANO MARTYRS. QI

selves be dragged to the dark prisons of the In-
quisition, or with cheerful courage mounted the
funeral pile. A contemporary writer, an eye-
witness, reports :

" In Spain and Portugal there are monasteries and convents full of
Jews. Not a few conceal Judaism in their heart and feign Christian-
ity on account of worldly goods. Some of these feel the stings of
conscience and escape, if they are able. In this city (Amsterdam)
and in several other places, we have monks, Augustinians, Francis-
cans, Jesuits, Dominicans, who have rejected idolatry. There are
bishops in Spain and grave monks, whose parents, brothers, or sisters,
dwell here (in Amsterdam) and in other cities in order to be able to
profess Judaism."

At the very time when Spinoza became estranged
from Judaism, the smoke and flames of the funeral
piles of Jewish martyrs rose in several cities of Spain
and Portugal, in Cuenca, Granada, Santiago de
Compostela, Cordova, and Lisbon.

In the last-named city a distinguished Marrano,
Manuel Fernando de Villa-Real, statesman, poli-
tical writer, and poet, who conducted the consular
affairs of the Portuguese court at Paris, returned to
Lisbon on business, was seized by the Inquisition,
gagged, and led to execution (December i, 1652).
In Cuenca on one day (June 29, 1654) fifty-seven
Christian proselytes to Judaism were dragged to the
auto-da-fe. Most of them only received corporal
chastisement with loss of property, but ten
were burned to death. Amongst them was a dis-

<_>

'cinguished man, the court-saclcller Balthasar Lopez,
from Valladolicl, who had amassed a fortune of
100,000 ducats. He had migrated to Bayonne,
where a small community of former Marranos was
tolerated, and had returned to Spain only to per-
suade a nephew to come back to Judaism. He was
seized by the Inquisition, tortured, and condemned
to death by the halter and the stake. On his way
to the scaffold, Balthasar Lopez ridiculed the In-
quisition and Christianity. He exclaimed to the
executioner about to bind him, " I do not believe in
your Christ, even if you bind me," and threw the

92 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

cross which had been forced upon him to the ground.
Five months later twelve Marranos were burnt in
Granada. Again, some months later (March, 1655),
a promising youth of twenty, Marcos da Almeyda
Bernal, whose Jewish name was Isaac, died at the
stake ; and two months afterwards (May 3d) Abra-
ham Nunes Bernal was burnt at Cordova.

Whoever in the community of Amsterdam could
compose verses in Spanish, Portuguese, or Latin,
sang or bewailed the martyrdom of the two Bernals.
Was Spinoza's view correct that all these martyrs,
and the thousands of Jewish victims still hounded by
the Inquisition, pursued a delusion ? Could the rep-
resentatives of Judaism allow unreproved, in their
immediate neighborhood, the promulgation of the
idea that Judaism is merely an antiquated error ?

The college of rabbis, in which sat the two chief
Chachams, Saul Morteira and Isaac Aboab — Manas-
seh ben Israel was then living in London — had
ascertained the fact of Spinoza's change of opinion,
and had collected evidence. It was not easy to
accuse him of apostasy, as he did not proclaim his
thoughts aloud in the market-place, as Uriel da
Costa had announced his breach with Judaism.
Besides, he led a quiet, self-contained life, and asso-
ciated little with men. His avoidance of the syna-
gogue, the first thing probably to attract notice,
could not form the subject of a Rabbinical accusation.
It is possible that, as is related, two of his fellow-
students (one, perhaps, the sly Isaac Naar) thrust
themselves upon him, drew him out, and accused
him of unbelief, and contempt for Judaism. Spinoza
was summoned, tried, and admonished to return to
his former course of life. The court of rabbis did
not at first proceed with severity against him, for he
was a favorite of his teacher, and beloved in the
community on account of his modest bearing and
moral behavior. By virtue of the firmness of his
character Spinoza probably made no sort of conces-

CH. IV. SPINOZA AND THE RABBIS. 93

sion, but insisted upon freedom of thought and con-
duct. Without doubt he was, in consequence, laid
under the lesser excommunication, that is, close inter-
course with him was forbidden for thirty days. This
probably caused less pain to Spinoza, who, self-
centred, found sufficient resource in his rich world
of thought, than to the superficial Da Costa. Also,
he was not without Christian friends, and he, there-
fore, made no alteration in his manner of life. This
firmness was naturally construed as obstinacy
and defiance. But the rabbinate, as well as the
secular authorities of the community did not wish
to exert the rigor of the Rabbinical law against him,
in order not to drive him to an extreme measure,
i. e., into the arms of the Church. What harm might
not the conversion to Christianity of so remarkable
a youth entail in a newly-founded community, con-
sisting of Jews with Christian reminiscences ! What
impression would it make on the Marranos in Spain
and Portugal? Perhaps the scandal caused by Da
Costa's excommunication, still fresh in men's memo-
ries, may have rendered a repetition impracticable.
The rabbis, therefore, privately offered Spinoza,
through his friends, a yearly pension of a thousand
gulden on condition that he take no hostile step
against Judaism, and show himself from time to time
in the synagogue. But Spinoza, though young, was
of so determined a character, that money could not
entice him to abandon his convictions or to act the
hypocrite. He insisted that he would not give up
freedom of inquiry and thought. He continued to
impart to Jewish youths doctrines undermining
Judaism. So the tension between him and the rep-
resentatives of Judaism became daily greater ; both
sides were right, or imagined they were. A fanatic

in Amsterdam thought that he could put an end to

«iii

this breach by a dagger-stroke aimed at the dan-
gerous apostate. He waylaid Spinoza at the exit
from the theatre, and struck at the philosopher with

94 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

his murderous weapon. But the latter observed the
hostile movement in time, and avoided the blow, so
that only his coat was damaged. Spinoza left
Amsterdam to avoid the clanger of assassination,
and betook himself to the house of a friend, likewise
persecuted by the dominant Calvinistic Church, an
adherent of the sect of the Rhynsburgians, or Collec-
tants, who dwelt in a village between Amsterdam
and Ouderkerk. Reconciliation between Spinoza
and the synagogue was no longer to be thought of.
The rabbis and the secular authorities of the com-
munity pronounced the greater excommunication
upon him, proclaiming it in the Portuguese language
on a Thursday, Ab 6th (July 24th), 1656, shortly
before the fast in memory of the destruction of
Jerusalem. The sentence was pronounced solemnly
in the synagogue from the pulpit before the open
Ark. The sentence was as follows :

"The council has long had notice of the evil opinions and actions
of Baruch d'Espinosa, and these are daily increasing in spite of efforts
to reclaim him. In particular, he teaches and proclaims dreadful
heresy, of which credible witnesses are present, who have made their
depositions in presence of the accused."

All this, they continued, had been proved in the
presence of the elders, and the council had resolved
to place him under the ban, and excommunicate him.

The usual curses were pronounced upon him in
presence of scrolls of the Law, and finally the coun-
cil forbade anyone to have intercourse with him,
verbally or by writing, to do him any service, to
abide under the same roof with him, or to come
within the space of four cubits' distance from him, or
to read his writings. Contrary to wont, the ban
against Spinoza was stringently enforced, to keep
young people from his heresies.

Spinoza was away from Amsterdam, when the
ban was hurled against him. He is said to have re-
ceived the news with indifference, and to have
remarked that he was now compelled to do what he

CH. IV. THE THEOLOGICO-POLITICAL TREATISE. 95

would otherwise have done without compulsion.
His philosophic nature, which loved solitude, could
easily dispense with intercourse with relatives and
former friends. Yet the matter did not end for him
there. The representative body of the Portuguese
community appealed to the municipal authorities to
effect his perpetual banishment from Amsterdam.
The magistrates referred the question, really a theo-
logical one, to the clergy, and the latter are said
to have proposed his withdrawal from Amsterdam
for some months. Most probably this procedure
prompted him to elaborate a justificatory pamphlet
to show the civil authorities that he was no violator
or transgressor of the laws of the state, but that he
had exercised his just rights, when he reflected on
the religion of his forefathers and religion generally,
and thought out new views. The chain of reasoning
suggested to Spinoza in the preparation of his de-
fense caused him doubtless to give wider extension
and bearing to this question. It gave him the op-
portunity to treat of freedom of thought and inquiry
generally, and so to lay the foundation of the first
of his suggestive writings, which have conferred
upon him literary immortality. In the village to
which he had withdrawn, 1656-60, and later in
Rhynsburg, where he also spent several years,
1660-64, Spinoza occupied himself (while polishing
lenses, which handicraft he had learned to secure his
moderate subsistence) with the Cartesian philosophy
and the elaboration of the work entitled " The Theo-
logico-Political Treatise." His prime object was to
spread the conviction that freedom of thought can
be permitted without prejudice to religion and the
peace of the state ; furthermore, that it must be per-
mitted, for if it were forbidden, religion and peace
could not exist in the state.

The apology for freedom of thought had been
rendered harder rather than easier for Spinoza, by
the subsidiary ideas with which he crossed the main

g6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

lines of his system. He could not philosophically
find the source of law, and transferred its origin to
might. Neither God, nor man's conscience, accord-
ing to Spinoza, is the fountain of the eternal law
which rules and civilizes mankind ; it springs from
the whole lower natural world. He made men to a
certain extent "like the fishes of the sea, like creep-
ing things, which have no master." Large fish have
the right, not only to drink water, but also to devour
smaller fish, because they have the power to do so ;
the sphere of right of the individual man extends as
far as his sphere of might. This natural right does
not recognize the difference between good and evil,
virtue and vice, submission and force. But because
such unlimited assertion on the part of each must
lead to a perpetual state of war of all against all,
men have tacitly, from fear, or hope, or reason, given
up their unlimited privileges to a collective body, the
state. Out of two evils — on the one hand, the full
possession of their sphere of right and might, tend-
ing to mutual destruction, and its alienation, on the
other — men have chosen the latter as the lesser
evil. The state, whether represented by a supreme
authority elected for the purpose, such as the Dutch
States General, or by a despot, is the full possessor
of the rights of all, because of the power of all.
Every one is bound by his own interest to uncondi-
tional obedience, even if he should be commanded
to deprive others of life ; resistance is not only pun-
ishable, but contrary to reason. This supreme
power is not controlled by any law. Whether ex-
ercised by an individual, as in a monarchy, or by sev-
eral, as in a republic, it is justified in doing every-
thing, and can do no wrong. But the state has
supreme right not merely over actions of a civil na-
ture, but also over spiritual and religious views ; it
could not exist, if everyone were at liberty to attack
it under the pretext of religion. The government
alone has the right to control religious affairs, and

CH. iv. SPINOZA'S THEORY OF THE STATE. 97

to define belief, unbelief, orthodoxy, and heresy.
What a tyrannical conclusion ! As this theory of
Spinoza fails to recognize moral law, so it ignores
steadfast fidelity. As soon as the government
grows weak, it no longer has claim to obedience ;
everyone may renounce and resist it, to submit him-
self to the incoming power. According to this
theory of civil and religious despotism, no one may
have an opinion about the laws of the state, other-
wise he is a rebel. Spinoza's theory almost does
away with freedom, even of thought and opinion.
Whoever speaks against a state ordinance in a
fault-finding spirit, or to throw odium upon the gov-
ernment, or seeks to repeal a law against its express
wish, should be regarded as a disturber of the public
peace. Only through a sophistical quibble was
Spinoza able to save freedom of thought and free
expression of opinion. Every man has this right by
nature, the only one which he has not transferred
to the state, because it is essentially inalienable. It
must be conceded to everyone to think and judge
in opposition to the opinion of the government, even
to speak and teach, provided this be done with
reason and reflection, without fraud, anger, or
malice, and without the intention of causing a revo-
lution.

On this weak basis, supported by a few other sec-
ondary considerations, Spinoza justified his conflict
with Judaism and his philosophical attacks upon the
sacred writings recognized by the Dutch States.
He thought that he had succeeded in justifying him-
self before the magistrates sufficiently by his defense
of freedom of thought. In the formulation of this
apology it was apparent that he was not indifferent
to the treatment which he had experienced from the
college of rabbis. Spinoza was so filled with dis-
pleasure, if not with hatred, of Jews and Judaism,
that his otherwise clear judgment was biased. He,
like Da Costa, called the rabbis nothing but Phari-

98 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

sees, and imputed to them ambitious and degraded
motives, while they wished only to secure their
treasured beliefs against attacks. Prouder even
than his contemporaries, the French and English
philosophers, of freedom of thought, for centuries
repressed by the church, and now soaring aloft the
more powerfully, Spinoza summoned theology, in
particular, ancient Judaism before the throne of
reason, examined its dogmas and archives, and pro-
nounced sentence of condemnation upon his mother-
faith. He had erected a tower of thought in his
brain from which, as it were, he wished to storm
heaven. Spinoza's philosophy is like a fine net, laid
before our eyes, mesh by mesh, by which the human
understanding is unexpectedly ensnared, so that
half voluntarily, half compulsorily, it surrenders.
Spinoza recognized, as no thinker before, those
universal laws, immutable as iron, which are appar-
ent in the development of the most insignificant
grain of seed no less than in the revolution of the
heavenly bodies, in the precision of mathematical
thought as in the apparent irregularity of human
passions. Whilst these laws work with constant
uniformity, and produce the same causes and the
same phenomena in endless succession, the instru-
ments of law are perishable things, creatures of a
day, which rise, and vanish to give place to others :
here eternity, there temporality ; on the one side
necessity, on the other chance ; here reality, there
delusive appearances. These and other enigmas
Spinoza sought to solve with the penetration that
betrays the son of the Talmud, and with logical con-
secutiveness and masterly arrangement, for which
Aristotle might have envied him.

The whole universe, all individual things, and
their active powers are, according to Spinoza, not
merely from God, but of God ; they constitute the
infinite succession of forms in which God reveals
Himself, through which He eternally works accord-

CH. iv. SPINOZA'S VIEW OF GOD AND MAN. 99

ing to His eternal nature — the soul, as it were, of
thinking bodies, the body of the soul extended in
space. God is the indwelling, not the external
efficient cause of all things ; all is in God and moves
in God. God as creator and generator of all things

o c>

is generative or self-producing nature. The whole
of nature is animate, and ideas, as bodies, move in
eternity on lines running parallel to or intersecting
one another. Though the fullness of things which
have proceeded from God and which exist in Him
are not of an eternal, but of a perishable nature, yet
they are not limited or defined by chance, but by the
necessity of the divine nature, each in its own way
existing or acting within its smaller or larger sphere.
The eternal and constant nature of God works in
them through the eternal laws communicated to
them. Things could, therefore, not be constituted
otherwise than they are ; for they are the manifest-
ations, entering into existence in an eternal stream,
of God in the intimate connection of thought and
extension.

What is man's place in this logical system ? How
is he to act and work ? Even he, with all his great-
ness and littleness, his strength and weakness, his
heaven-aspiring mind, and his body subject to the
need of sustenance, is nothing more than a form of
existence (Modus) of God. Man after man, genera-
tion after generation, springs up and perishes, flows
away like a drop in a perpetual stream, but his
nature, the laws by which he moves bodily and men-
tally in the peculiar connection of mind and matter,
reflect the Divine Being. Especially the human
mind, or rather the various modes of thought, the
feelings and conceptions of all men, form the eternal
reason of God. But man is as little free as things,
as the stone which rolls down from the mountain ;
he has to obey the causes which influence him from
within and without. Each of his actions is the pro-
duct of an infinite series of causes and effects, which

IOO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

he can scarcely discern, much less control and
alter at will. The good man and the bad, the martyr
who sacrifices himself for a noble object, as well as
the execrable villain and the murderer, are all like
clay in the hands of God ; they act, the one well, the
other ill, compelled by their inner nature. They all
act from rigid necessity. No man can reproach
God for having given him a weak nature or a
clouded intellect, as it would be irrational if a circle
should complain that God has not given it the nature
and properties of the sphere, It is not the lot of
every man to be strong-minded, and it lies as little
in his power to have a sound mind as a sound body.
On one side man is, to a certain extent, free, or
rather some men of special mental endowments can
free themselves a little from the pressure exercised
upon them. Man is a slave chiefly through his
passions. Love, hate, anger, thirst for glory, avarice,
make him the slave of the external world. These
passions spring from the perplexity of the soul, which
thinks it can control things, but wears itself out, so
to speak, against their obstinate resistance, and
suffers pain thereby. The better the soul suc-
ceeds in comprehending the succession of causes
and effects and the necessity of phenomena in the
plan of the universe, the better able is it to change
pain into a sense of comfort. Through higher
insight, man, if he allows himself to be led by reason,
can acquire strength of soul, and feel increased love
to God, that is, to the eternal whole. On the one
hand, this secures nobility of mind to aid men and
to win them by mildness and benevolence ; and
creates, on the other, satisfaction, joy, and happiness.
He who is gifted with highest knowledge lives in
God, and God in him. Knowledge is virtue, as
ignorance is, to a certain extent, vice. Whilst the
wise man, or strictly speaking, the philosopher,
thanks to his higher insight and his love of God,
enjoys tranquillity of soul, the man of clouded intel-

CH. IV. SPINOZA AND JUDAISM. IOI

lect, who abandons himself to the madness of his
passions, must dispense with this joyousness, and
often perishes in consequence. The highest virtue,
according to Spinoza's system, is self-renunciation
through knowledge, keeping in a state of passive-
ness, coming as little as possible in contact with the
crushing machinery offerees — avoiding them if they
come near, or submitting to them if their wild career
overthrows the individual. But as he who is beset
by desires deserves no blame, so no praise is due
the wise man who practices self-renunciation ; both
follow the law of their nature. Higher knowledge
and wisdom cannot be attained if the conditions
are wanting, namely, a mind susceptible of know-
ledge and truth, which one can neither give himself,
nor throw off. Man has thus no final aim, any more
than the eternal substance.

Spinoza's moral doctrines — ethics in the narrower
sense — are just as unfruitful as his political theories.
In either case, he recognizes submission as the only
rational course.

With this conception of God and moral action, it
cannot surprise us that Judaism found no favor in
Spinoza's eyes. Judaism lays down directly op-
posite principles — beckons man to a high, self-
reliant task, and proclaims aloud the progress of
mankind in simple service of God, holiness, and
victory over violence, the sword, and degrading war.
This progress has been furthered in many ways by
Judaism in the course of ages. Wanting, as Spinoza
was, in apprehension of historical events, more won-
derful than the phenomena of nature, and unable as
he therefore was to accord to Judaism special impor-
tance, he misconceived it still further through his
bitterness against the Amsterdam college of rabbis,
who pardonably enough, had excommunicated him.
Spinoza transferred his bitterness against the com-
munity to the whole Jewish race and to Judaism.
As has been already said, he called the rabbis

IO2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

Pharisees in his " Theologico-Political Treatise " and
in letters to his friends, and gave the most invidious
meaning to this word. To Christianity, on the
contrary, Spinoza conceded great excellencies ; he
regarded Judaism with displeasure, therefore, de-
tected deficiencies and absurdities everywhere, while
he cast a benevolent eye upon Christianity, and
overlooked its weaknesses. Spinoza, therefore, with
all the instinct for truth which characterized him,
formed a conception of Judaism which, in some
degree just, was, in many points, perverse and de-
fective. Clear as his mind was in metaphysical
inquiries, it was dark and confused on historical
ground. To depreciate Judaism, Spinoza declared
that the books of Holy Scripture contain scribes'
errors, interpolations, and disfigurements, and are
not, as a rule, the work of the authors to whom they
are ascribed — not even the Pentateuch, the original
source of Judaism. Ezra, perhaps, first collected
and arranged it after the Babylonian exile. The
genuine writings of Moses are no longer extant,
not even the Ten Commandments being in their
original form. Nevertheless, Spinoza accepted
every word in the Bible as a kind of revelation, and
designated all persons who figure in it as prophets.
He conceded, on the ground of Scripture, that the
revelation of the prophets was authenticated by
visible signs. Nevertheless, he very much under-
rated this revelation. Moses, the prophets, and all
the higher personages of the Bible had only a con-
fused notion of God, nature, and living beings ; they
were not philosophers, they did not avail themselves
of the natural light of reason. Jesus stood higher ;
he taught not only a nation, but the whole of man-
kind on rational grounds. The Apostles, too, were
to be set higher than the prophets, since they intro-
duced a natural method of instruction, and worked
not merely through signs, but also through rational
conviction. As though the main effort of the Apos-

CH. IV. THE JEWISH THEOCRACY. 1 03

ties, to which their whole zeal was devoted, viz., to
reach belief in the miraculous resurrection of Jesus,
were consistent with reason ! It was only Spinoza's
bitterness against Jews which caused him to depre-
ciate their spiritual property and overrate Chris-
tianity. His sober intellect, penetrating to the
eternal connection of things and events, could not
accept miracles, but those of the New Testament
he judged mildly.

In spite of his condemnatory verdict on Judaism,
he was struck by two phenomena, which he did not
fully understand, and which, therefore, he judged only
superficially according to his system. These were
the moral greatness of the prophets, and the super-
iority of the Israelite state, which in a measure de-
pend on each other. Without understanding the
political organization, in which natural and moral
laws, necessity and freedom work together, Spinoza
explains the origin of the Jewish state, that is, of
Judaism, in the following manner : When the Israel-
ites, after deliverance from slavery in Egypt, were
free from all political bondage, and restored to their
natural rights, they willingly chose God as their
Lord, and transferred their rights to Him alone by
formal contract and alliance. That there be no ap-
pearance of fraud on the divine side, God permitted
them to recognize His marvelous power, by virtue
of which He had hitherto preserved, and promised
in future to preserve them, that is, He revealed
Himself to them in His glory on Sinai ; thus God
became the King of Israel and the state a theo-
cracy. Religious opinions and truths, therefore, had
a legal character in this state, religion and civic right
coincided. Whoever revolted from religion forfeited
his rights as a citizen, and whoever died for religion
was a patriot. Pure democratic equality, the right
of all to entreat God and interpret the laws, pre-
vailed among the Israelites. But when, in the over-
powering bewilderment of the revelation from Sinai.

IO4 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

they voluntarily asked Moses to receive the laws
from God and to interpret them, they renounced
their equality, and transferred their rights to Moses.
Moses from that time became God's representative.
Hence, he promulgated laws suited to the condition
of the people at that time, and introduced cere-
monies to remind them always of the Law and keep
them from willfulness, so that in accordance with a
definite precept they should plough, sow, eat, clothe
themselves, in a word, do everything according to
the precepts of the Law. Above all, he provided
that they might not act from childish or slavish fear,
but from reverence for God. He bound them by
benefits, and promised them earthly prosperity — all
through the power and by the command of God.
Moses was vested with spiritual and civil power, and
authorized to transmit both. He preferred to trans-
fer the civil power to his disciple Joshua in full, but
not as a heritage, and the spiritual power to his
brother Aaron as a heritage, but limited by the civil
ruler, and not accompanied by a grant of territory.
After the death of Moses the Jewish state was
neither a monarchy, nor an aristocracy, nor a
democracy ; it remained a theocracy. The family
of the high-priest was God's interpreter, and the
civil power, after Joshua's death, fell to single tribes
or their chiefs.

This constitution offered many advantages. The
civil rulers could not turn the law to their own
advantage, nor oppress the people, for the Law was
the province of the sacerdotal order — the sons of
Aaron and the Levites. Besides, the people were
made acquainted with the Law through the pre-
scribed reading at the close of the Sabbatical year,
and would not have passed over with indifference
any willful transgression of the law of the state.
The army was composed of native militia, while
foreigners, that is, mercenaries, were excluded.
Thus the rulers were prevented from oppressing

CH, IV. THF JEWISH CONSTITUTION. IO$

the people or waging war arbitrarily. The tribes
were united by religion, and the oppression of
one tribe by its ruler would have been punished
by the rest. The princes were not placed at the
head through rank or privilege of blood, but through
capacity and merit. Finally, the institution of
prophets proved very wholesome. Since the con-
stitution was theocratical, every one of blameless
life was able through certain signs to represent him-
self as a prophet like Moses, draw the oppressed
people to him in the name of God, and oppose the
tyranny of the rulers. This peculiar constitution
produced in the heart of the Israelites an especial
patriotism, which was at the same time a religion, so
that no one would betray it, leave God's kingdom,
or swear allegiance to a foreigner. This love,
coupled with hatred against other nations, and fos-
tered by daily worship of God, became second nature
to the Israelites. It strengthened them to endure
everything for their country with steadfastness and
courage. This constitution offered a further advan-
tage, because the land was equally divided, and no
one could be permanently deprived of his portion
through poverty, as restitution had to be made in the
year of jubilee.

Hence, there was little poverty, or such only as
was endurable, for the love of one's neighbor had to
be exercised with the greatest conscientiousness to
keep the favor of God, the King. Finally, a large
space was accorded to gladness. Thrice a year and
on other occasions the people were to assemble at
festivals, not to revel in sensual enjoyments, but to
accustom themselves to follow God gladly ; for
there is no more effectual means of guiding the
hearts of men than the joy which arises from love
and admiration.

After Spinoza had depicted Israel's theocracy
quite as a pattern for all states, he was apparently
startled at having imparted so much light to the

IO6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

picture, and he looked around for shade. Instead
of answering in a purely historical manner the ques-
tions, whence it came that the Hebrews were so
often subdued, and why their state was entirely de-
stroyed ; instead of indicating that these wholesome
laws remained a never realized ideal, Spinoza sug-
gests a sophistic solution. Because God did not
wish to make Israel's dominion lasting, he gave bad
laws and statutes. Spinoza supports this view by a
verse which he misunderstood. These bad laws,
rebellion against the sacerdotal state, coupled with
bad morals, produced discontent, revolt, and insur-
rection. At last matters went so far, that instead
of the Divine King, the Israelites chose a human
one, and instead of the temple, a court. Monarchy,
however, only increased the disorder ; it could not
endure the state within the state, the high-priest-
hood, and lowered the dignity of the latter by the
introduction of strange worship. The prophets
could avail nothing, because they only declaimed
against the tyrants, but could not remove the cause
of the evils. All things combined brought on the
destruction of the divine state. With its destruc-
tion by the Babylonian king, the natural rights of
the Israelites were transferred to the conqueror, and
they were bound to obey him and his successors, as
they had obeyed God. All the laws of Judaism,
nay, the whole of Judaism, was thereby abolished,
and no longer had any significance. This was the
result of Spinoza's inquiry in his " Theologico-
Political Treatise." Judaism had a brilliant past,
God concluded an alliance with the people, showed
to them His exalted power, and gave them excel-
lent laws ; but He did not intend Israel's preemi-
nence to be permanent, therefore He also gave bad
laws. Consequently, Judaism reached its end more
than two thousand years ago, and yet it continued
its existence ! Wonderful ! Spinoza found the
history of Israel and the constitution of the state

CH. iv. SPINOZA'S CHARACTER. 107

excellent during the barbarism of the period of the
Judges, while the brilliant epochs of David and Sol-
omon and of King Uzziah remained inexplicable to
him. And, above all, the era of the second Temple,
the Maccabean epoch, when the Jewish nation rose
from shameful degradation to a brilliant height, and
brought the heathen world itself to worship the one
God and adopt a moral life, remained to Spinoza an
insoluble riddle. This shows that his whole dem-
onstration and his analysis (schematism) cannot
stand the test of criticism, but rests on false
assumptions.

Spinoza might have brought Judaism into extreme
peril ; for he not only furnished its opponents with the
weapons of reason to combat Judaism more effect-
ually, but also conceded to every state and magis-
trate the right to suppress it and use force against
its followers, to which they ought meekly to submit.
The funeral piles of the Inquisition for Marranos
were, according to Spinoza's system, doubly justified;
citizens have no right on rational grounds to resist
the recognized religion of the state, and it is folly to
profess Judaism and to sacrifice oneself for it. But
a peculiar trait of Spinoza's character stood Judaism
in good stead. He loved peace and quiet too well
to become a propagandist for his critical principles.
"To be peaceable and peaceful" was his ideal;
avoidance of conflict and opposition was at once his
strength and his weakness. To his life's end he led
an ideally-philosophical life ; for food, clothing, and
shelter, he needed only so much as he could earn
with his handicraft of polishing lenses, which his
friends disposed of. He struggled against accept-
ing a pension, customarily bestowed on learned men
at that time, even from his sincere and rich admirers,
Simon de Vries and the grand pensionary De Witt,
that he might not fall into dependence, constraint,
and disquiet. By reason of this invincible desire for
philosophic calm and freedom from care, he would

IO8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

not decide in favor of either of the political parties,
then setting the Sta'tes General in feverish agitation.
Not even the exciting murder of his friend John de
Witt was able to hurry him into partisanship. Spi-
noza bewailed his high and noble friend, but did not
defend his honor, to clear it of suspicion. When the
most highly cultivated German prince of his time,
Count-Palatine Karl Ludwig, who cherished a cer-
tain affection for Jews, offered him, " the Protestant
Jew," as he was still called, the chair of philosophy
in the University of Heidelberg under very favor-
able conditions, Spinoza declined the offer. He did
not conceal his reason : he would not surrender his
quietude. From this predominant tendency, or,
rather, from fear of disturbance and inconveniences
and from apprehension of calling enemies down
upon him, or of coming into collision with the state,
he refused to publish his speculations for a long time.
When at last he resolved, on the pressure of friends,
to send " The Theolooaco-Political Treatise ' to

c>

press, he did not put his name to the work, which
made an epoch in literature, and even caused
a false place of publication, viz., Hamburg, to be
printed on the title-page, in order to obliterate every
trace of its real authorship. He almost denied his
offspring, to avoid being disturbed.

As might have been foreseen, the appearance of
"The Theologico-Political Treatise" (1670), made
an extraordinary stir. No one had written so dis-
tinctly and incisively concerning the relation of
religion to philosophy and the power of the state,
and, above all, had so sharply condemned the clergy.
The ministers of all denominations were extraordi-
narily excited against this "godless" book, as it
was called, which disparaged revealed religion. Spi-
noza's influential friends were not able to protect it ;
it was condemned by a decree of the States General,
and forbidden to be sold — which only caused it to
be read more eagerly. But Spinoza was the more

CH. IV. MARRANO AUTHORS. IOQ

reluctant to publish his other writings, especially his
philosophical system. With all his strength of
character, he did not belong to those bold spirits,
who undertake to be the pioneers of truth, who usher
it into the world with loud voice, and win it adher-
ents, unconcerned as to whether they may have to
endure bloody or bloodless martyrdom. In the un-
selfishness of Spinoza's character and system there
lurked an element of selfishness, namely, the desire
to be disturbed as little as possible in the attain-
ment of knowledge, in the happiness of contempla-
tion, and in reflection upon the universe and the
chain of causes and effects which prevail in it. A
challenge to action, effort, and resistance to opposi-
tion lay neither in Spinoza's temper, nor in his
philosophy.

In this apparently harmless feature lay also the
reason that his most powerful and vehemently con-
ducted attacks upon Judaism made no deep impres-
sion, and called forth no great commotion in the
Jewish world. At the time when Spinoza threw
down the challenge to Judaism, a degree of culture
and science prevailed in the Jewish-Portuguese
circle, unkown either before or after ; there reigned
in the community of Amsterdam and its colonies a
literary activity and fecundity, which might be called
classical, if the merit of the literary productions had
corresponded with their compass. The authors
were chiefly cultivated Marranos, who had escaped
from the Spanish or Portuguese prisons of the In-
quisition to devote themselves in free Holland to their
faith and free inquiry. There were philosophers,
physicians, mathematicians, philologists, poets, even
poetesses. Many of these Marranos who escaped
to Amsterdam had gonethrough peculiarvicissitudes.
A monk of Valencia, Fray Vincent de Rocamora
(1601-1684), had been eminent in Catholic theol-
ogy. He had been made confessor to the Infanta
Maria, afterwards empress of Germany and a per-

IIO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

secutor of the Jews. One day the confessor fled
from Spain, reached Amsterdam, declared himself
as Isaac de Rocamora, studied medicine at the age
of forty, and became the happy father of a family
and president of Jewish benevolent institutions.
The quondam monk, afterwards Parnass (president
of the community), was also a good poet, and wrote
admirable Spanish and Latin verses.

Enrique Enriquez de Paz of Segovia (1600-1660),
the Jewish Calderon, had a very different career.
Having entered the army while young, he behaved
so gallantly that he won the order of San Miguel,
and was made captain. Besides the sword, he
wielded the pen, with which he described comic fig-
ures and situations. Enriquez de Paz, or, as he
was styled in his poetical capacity, Antonio Enri-
quez de Gomez, composed more than two and
twenty comedies, some of which were put upon the
stage at Madrid, and, being taken for Calderon's pro-
ductions, were received with much applause. Neither
Mars nor the Muses succeeded in protecting him
against the Inquisition ; he could escape its clutches
only by rapid flight. He lived a long time in France.
His prolific muse celebrated Louis XIV, the queen
of France, the powerful statesman Richelieu, and
other high personages of the court. He bewailed
in elegies his misfortunes and the loss of his country,
which he loved like a son, step-mother though she
had been to him. Although blessed by fortune,
Enriquez de Paz felt himself unhappy in the rude
north, far from the blue mountains and mild air of
Spain. He lamented :

" I have won for myself wealth and traveled over many seas, and
heaped up ever fresh treasures by thousands ; now my hair is
bleached, my beard as snowy white as my silver bars, the reward of
my labors."

He lived in France, too, as a Christian, but pro-
claimed his sympathy with Judaism by mourning in
elegiac verses the martyrdom of Lope de Vera y

CH. IV. ANTONIO ENRIQUEZ DE GOMEZ. Ill

Alarcon. Finally he settled down in the asylum of
the Marranos, whilst his effigy was burnt on the fun-
eral pile at Seville. There had been again a great
auto-da-fe (1660) of sixty Marranos, of whom four
were first strangled and then burned, whilst three
were burned alive. Effigies of escaped Marranos
were borne along in procession, and thrown into
the flames — amongst them that of the knight of
San Miguel, the writer of comedies. A new-
Christian, who was present at this horrible sight,
and soon after escaped to Amsterdam, met Gomez
in the street, and exclaimed excitedly: "Ah!
Sefior Gomez ! I saw your effigy burn on the
funeral pile at Seville ! " " Well," he replied, " they
are welcome to it." Along with his numerous secu-
lar poems, Enriquez Gomez left one of Jewish
national interest in celebration of the hero-judge
Samson. The laurels which the older Spanish
poet Miguel Silveyra, also a Marrano, whom he
admired, had won by his epic, " The Maccabee,"
haunted him until he had brought out a companion
piece. To the blind hero who avenged himself on
the Philistines by his very death, Gomez assigned
verses which expressed his own heart :

" I die for Thy holy word, for Thy religion,
For Thy doctrine, Thy hallowed commandments,
For the nation adopted by Thy choice,
For Thy sublime ordinance I die."

Another point of view is presented by two emi-
grant Marranos of this period, father and son, the
two Pensos, the one rich in possessions and charity,
the other in poetical gifts. They probably sprang
from Espejo, in the province of Cordova, escaped
from the fury of the Inquisition, and at last settled,
after many changes of residence, as Jews in Am-
sterdam. Isaac Penso (died 1683) the elder, a
banker, was a father to the poor. He spent a tithe
of the income from his property on the poor, and
distributed, up to his death, 40,000 gulden. His

112 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

decease aroused deep regret in the community of
Amsterdam. His son (Felice) Joseph Penso, also
called De la Vega from his mother's family (1650-
1703), was a rich merchant, and turned his atten-
tion to poetry. A youth of seventeen, he awoke
the long-slumbering echo of neo-Hebraic poesy,
and caused it to strike its highest note. Joseph
Penso boldly undertook a most difficult task ; he
composed a Hebrew drama. Since Immanuel
Romi had written his witty tales in verse, the neo-
Hebraic muse had been stricken with sterility, for
which the increasing troubles of the times were not
alone to blame. Moses da Rieti and the poetic
school of Salonica composed verses, but did not
write poetry. Even the greatest of Jewish poets,
Gebirol and Jehuda Halevi, had produced only lyric
and didactic poetry, and had not thought of the
drama. Joseph Penso, inspired by the poetical air
of Spain, the land of his birth, where Lope de
Vega's and Calderon's melodious verses were
heard beside the litany of the monks and the cry of
the sacrificial victims, transferred Spanish art
forms to neo-Hebraic poetry. Penso happily imi-
tated the various kinds of metre and strophe of
European poetry in the language of David and
Isaiah.

One may not, indeed, apply a severe standard to
Joseph Penso's drama, but should endeavor to for-
get that long before him Shakespeare had created
life-like forms and interests, For, measured by
these, Penso's dramatic monologue and dialogue
seem puerile. However free from blame his versi-
fication is, the invention is poor, the ideas common-
place. A king who takes a serious view of his re-
sponsibilities as ruler is led astray, now by his own
impulses (Yezer), now by a coquette (Isha), now by
Satan. Three other opposing forces endeavor to
lead him in the right way — his own judgment
(Sechel), divine inspiration (Hashgacha), and an

CH. IV. JOSEPH PENSO. 113

angel. These are the characters in Penso's drama
" The Captives of Hope " (Asire ha-Tikwah). But
if one takes into consideration the object which
Penso had in view, viz., to hold up a mirror to Mar-
rano youths settled at Amsterdam, who had been
used to Spanish licentiousness, and to picture to
them the high value of a virtuous life, the perform-
ance of the youthful poet is not to be despised.
Joseph Penso de la Vega composed a large number
of verses in Spanish, occasional poetry, moral and
philosophical reflections, and eulogies on princes.
His novels, entitled " The Dangerous Courses "
(los Rumbos peligrosos), were popular.

Marrano poets of mediocre ability were so nu-
merous at this time in Amsterdam, that one of them,
the Spanish resident in the Netherlands, Manuel
Belmonte (Isaac Nunes), appointed count-palatine,
founded an academy of poetry. Poetical works
were to be handed in, and as judges he appointed
the former confessor, De Rocamora, and another
Marrano, who composed Latin verses, Isaac Gomez
de Sosa. The latter was so much enraptured of
Penso's Hebrew drama, that he triumphantly pro-
claimed, in Latin verse :

" Now is it at length attained ! The Hebrew Muse strides along on
high-heeled buskin safe and sound. With the measured step of
poetry she is conducted auspiciously by Joseph — sprung from that
race which still is mostly in captivity. Lo ! a clear beam of hope
shines afresh, that now even the stage may be opened to sacred song.
Yet why do I praise him ? The poet is celebrated by his own poetry,
and his own work proclaims the praise of the master."

Another of the friends of the Jewish dramatist
was Nicolas de Oliver y Fullana (Daniel Jehuda),
poet, and colonel in the Spanish service ; he was
knighted, entered the service of Holland, and was
an accurate cartographer and cosmographer. There
was also Joseph Szemach (Sameh) Arias, a man of
high military rank, who translated into Spanish the
work of the historian Josephus against Apion, which
controverted the old prejudices and falsehoods

114 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.V CH. IV.

against Jews. This polemic was not superfluous
even at this time. Of the Jewish Marrano poet-
esses, it will suffice to name the fair and gifted
Isabel Correa (Rebecca), who twined a wreath of
various poems, and translated the Italian popular
drama, " The True Shepherd " (Pastor Fido, by
Guarini) into beautiful Spanish verse. Isabel was
the second wife of the poet-warrior, De Oliver y
Fullana.

Of a far different stamp was the Marrano
Thomas de Pinedo (Isaac, 1614-1679) of Portugal,
educated in a Jesuit college at Madrid. He was
more at home in classical than in Jewish antiquity,
and applied himself to a branch of study little culti-
vated in Spain in his time, that of ancient geogra-
phy. He, too, was driven out of Spain by the In-
quisition, and deemed himself fortunate to have
escaped unhurt. The philologist De Pinedo dwelt
later on in Amsterdam, where he printed his com-
prehensive work. He composed his own epitaph
in Latin.

We must not leave unmentioned a personage
celebrated at that time perhaps beyond his deserts,
Jacob Jehuda Leon (Templo, 1603-1671). If not a
Marrano, he was of Marrano descent, and resided
first at Middelburg, then at Amsterdam, and was
more an artist than a man of science. Leon de-
voted himself to the reproduction of the first Tem-
ple and its vessels, as they are described in the
Bible and the Talmud. He executed a model of
the Temple on a reduced scale (3 yards square, i */£
in height), and added a concise, clear description in
Spanish and Hebrew. Work of so unusual a char-
acter attracted extraordinary notice at a time when
every kind of antiquarian learning, especially bibli-
cal, was highly prized. The government of Hol-
land and Zealand gave the author the copyright
privilege. Duke August of Brunswick, and his wife
Elizabeth, wished to possess a German translation

CH. IV. DAVID DE ,LARA. 115

of Leon's description, and commissioned Professor
John Saubert, of Helmstadt, to undertake it. While
corresponding with the author so as to ensure
thoroughness, he was anticipated by another man
who brought out a German translation at Hanover.
This circumstance caused great annoyance to Pro-
fessor Saubert. Templo, as Leon and his posterity
were surnamed from his work in connection with
the Temple, engaged in controversies with Chris-
tian ecclesiastics on Judaism and Christianity, and
published a translation of the Psalms in Spanish.

In this cultivated circle of Spinoza's contempora-
ries were two men who lived alternately at Ham-
burg and Amsterdam, David Coen de Lara and
Dionysius Musaphia, both distinguished as philo-
logists, but not for much besides. With their know-
ledge of Latin and Greek they explained the dialect
of the Talmud, and corrected errors which had crept
into the earlier Talmudical lexicons. David de
Lara (1610-1674) was also a preacher and writer on
morals ; but his efforts in that direction are of small
value. He associated too much with the Hamburg
preacher., Esdras Edzardus, who was bent on the
conversion of the Jews. The latter spread the
false report that De Lara was almost a Christian
before he died. Dionysius (Benjamin) Musaphia
(born about 1616, died at Amsterdam, 1676), a phy-
sician and student of natural science, was up to the
date of the monarch's death in the service of the
Danish king Christian IV. He was also a philoso-
pher, and allowed himself to question various things
in the Talmud and the Bible. Nevertheless he held
the office of rabbi at Amsterdam in his old age.

Much more important than the whole of this cir-
cle was Balthasar Orobio de Castro (1620-1687).
He also sprang from Marrano parents, who secretly
continued to cling to Judaism, in that they abstained
from food and drink on the Day of Atonement. In
this meager conception of Judaism, Orobio was

Il6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

brought up. Endowed with clear intellect, he
studied the decayed and antiquated philosophy still
taught in Spanish academies, and became professor
of metaphysics in the University of Salamanca.
This fossilized philosophy appears neither to have
satisfied him nor to have brought him sufficient
means of subsistence, for he applied himself in riper
years to the study of medicine. In this pursuit
Orobio was more successful ; he gained a reputation
at Seville, was physician to the duke of Medina-
Celi, and to a family in high favor with the court,
and amassed considerable wealth. He was a happy
husband and father, when the Inquisition cast its
baleful glance upon him. A servant, whom he had
punished for theft, had informed against him.
Orobio was seized, accused of Judaism, and thrown
into a narrow, gloomy dungeon, where he had not
room to move, and where he spent three years
(about 1655-1658).

At first he filled up his time with philosophical
subtleties, as pursued at the Spanish universities.
He undertook to defend a thesis, acting at the same
time in imagination as the opponent, who interposes
objections, and as the judge, who sums up and sifts
the arguments. By degrees his mind grew so per-
plexed that he often asked himself, "Am I really
Don Balthasar Orobio, who went about in the streets
of Seville, and lived in comfort with his family?"
His past seemed a dream, and he believed that he
had been born in prison, and must die there. But
the tribunal of the Inquisition brought a change into
his empty dream-life. He was ushered into a dark
vault, lighted only by a dull lamp. He could hardly
distinguish the judge, the secretary, and the execu-
tioner, who were about to deal with his case. Hav-
ing been again admonished to confess his heresy,
and having again denied it, the hangman undressed
him, bound him with cords, which were fastened to
hooks in the wall, brought his body into a swinging

CH. IV. OROBIO DE CASTRO. I IJ

movement between the ceiling and the floor, and
drew the cords so tight, that the blood spurted from
his nails. His feet, moreover, were strongly bound
to a small ladder, the steps of which were studded
with spikes. Whilst being tortured, he was fre-
quently admonished to make confession, and was
threatened, in case he persisted in denial, with the
infliction of still more horrible pains, for which,
though they caused his death, he would have to
thank his own obstinacy, not the tribunal. However,
he survived the torture, was taken back to prison
to allow his wounds to heal, then condemned to
wear the garb of shame (San Benito), and was finally
banished from Spain. He betook himself to Tou-
louse, where he became professor of medicine in the
university. Although respected in his new position,
Orobio could not long endure the hypocrisy. He
went to Amsterdam, publicly professed the Jewish
religion, and assumed the name of Isaac (about
1666). No wonder that he became a bitter oppo-
nent of Christianity, which he had learnt to know
thoroughly. He became an adherent of Judaism
from conviction, proved himself a courageous and
able champion of the religion of his fathers, and
dealt such powerful blows to Christianity as few
before him, so that a distinguished Protestant theo-
logian (Van Limborch) felt compelled to reply to
Orobio's attacks.

All these cultivated youths and men, the soldier-
poets Enriquez Gomez, Nicholas de Oliver y
Fullana, and Joseph Arias, and the writers Joseph
Penso, Thomas de Pinedo, Jacob Leon, David de
Lara, and Dionysius Musaphia, knew of Spinoza's
attacks upon Judaism, and undoubtedly read his
" Theologico-Political Treatise." Isaac Orobio as-
sociated with Spinoza. Yet the blows by which
the latter strove to shake Judaism did not cause
the former to waver in their convictions. This is
the more remarkable, as simultaneously, from

Il8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

another side, Judaism was covered with shame, or,
what comes to the same thing, its followers every-
where in the East and West, with few exceptions,
became slaves to a delusion which exposed them to
the ridicule of the world, and enveloped them for
the first time in the darkness of the Middle Ages.

Without suspecting it, Spinoza possessed in the
East an ally, diametrically his opposite, who labored
to disintegrate Judaism, and succeeded in throwing
the whole Jewish race into a turmoil, which long
interfered with its progress. Sabbatai Zevi was at
once Spinoza's opposite and his ally. He possessed
many more admirers than the philosopher of Amster-
dam, became for a space the idol of the Jewish race,
and has secret adherents even to the present time.
Sabbatai Zevi (born Ab 9, 1626, died 1676), of
Smyrna, in Asia Minor, was of Spanish descent, and
became the originator of a new Messianic frenzy,
the founder of a new sect. He owed the attach-
ment which he inspired even as a youth, not to his
qualities of mind, but to his external appearance and
attractive manner. He was tall, well formed, had
fine dark hair, a fine beard, and a pleasant voice,
which won hearts by speech and still more by song.
But his mind was befogged by reason of the pre-
dominance of fancy ; he had an enthusiastic tem-
perament and an inclination to what was strange,
especially to solitude. In boyhood Sabbatai Zevi
avoided the company and games of playmates,
sought solitary places, and what usually has charms
for the young did not attract him. He was educated
by the current method. In early youth he studied
the Talmud in the school of the veteran Joseph
Eskapha, a staunch Talmudist of Smyrna, but did
not attain to great proficiency. The more was
he attracted by the confused jumble of the Kab-
bala. Once introduced into the labyrinth of the
Zohar, he felt himself at home therein, guided by
Lurya's interpretation. Sabbatai Zevi shared the

CH. IV. SABBATAi' ZEVI. 119

prevailing opinion that the Kabbala can be acquired
only by means of asceticism. He mortified his body,
and bathed very frequently in the sea, day and night,
winter and summer. Perhaps it was from sea-bath-
ing that his body derived the peculiar fragrance
which his worshipers strongly maintained that it
possessed. In early manhood he presented a con-
trast to his companions because he felt no attraction
to the female sex. According to custom Sabbatai
Zevi married early, but avoided his young, good-look-
ing wife so pertinaciously, that she applied for
divorce, which he willingly granted her. The same
thing happened with a second wife.

This aversion to marriage, rare in the warm
climate of the East, his assiduous study of the
Kabbala, and his ascetic life, attracted attention.
Disciples sought him, and were introduced by him
to the Kabbala. Twenty years old he was the
master of a small circle. He attached disciples to
himself partly by his earnest and retiring manner,
which precluded familiarity, partly by his musical
voice, with which he sang in Spanish the Kabbalistic
verses composed by Lurya or himself. Another
circumstance must be added. When Sultan Ibrahim
ascended the throne, a violent war broke out
between Turkey and Venice, which made the trade
of the Levant unsafe in the capital. Several Euro-
pean, that is, Dutch and English, mercantile houses
in consequence transferred their offices to Smyrna.
This hitherto insignificant city thereby acquired
importance as a mart. The Jews of Smyrna, who
had been poor, profited by this commercial develop-
ment, and amassed great riches, first as agents of
large houses, afterwards as independent firms.
Mordecai Zevi, Sabbatai's father, from the Morea,
originally poor, became the Smyrna agent of an
English house, executed its commissions with strict
honesty, enjoyed the confidence of the principals,
and became a wealthy man. His increasing pros-

I2O HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

perity was attributed by the blind father to the
merit of his Kabbala-loving son, to whom he paid
such great reverence, that it was communicated to
strangers. Sabbatai was regarded as a young saint.
The more discreet, on account of his folly, declared
him to be mad. In the house of his English prin-
cipal, Mordecai Zevi often heard the approach of
the millennium discussed, either he himself or some
of his people being enthusiastic believers in the
apocalypse of the Fifth Monarchy. The year 1666
was designated by these enthusiasts as the Messi-
anic year, which was to bring renewed splendor to
the Jews and see their return to Jerusalem. The
expectations heard in the English counting house
were communicated by Mordecai Zevi to the mem-
bers of his family, none of whom listened more atten-
tively than Sabbatai, already entangled in the maze
of the Luryan Kabbala, and inclined to mistake
enthusiastic hopes for prosaic fact. What if he
himself were called upon to usher in this time of
redemption ? Had he not, at an earlier age than
any one before, penetrated to the heart of the Kab-
bala ? And who could be more worthy of this call
than one deeply immersed in its mysteries ?

The central point of the later Kabbala was most
intense expectation of the Messiah ; Lurya, Vital,
and their disciples and followers proclaimed anew,
" The kingdom of heaven is at hand." A peculiar
redemption was to precede and accompany it — the
redemption of the scattered elements of the original
soul (Nizuzoth) from the fetters of original evil, the
demon nature (Kelifoth), which, taking a hold on
men through the fall of the angels or divine
elements, held them in captivity, impeded their
upward flight, and necessitated the perpetual trans-
migration of souls from body to body. As soon as
the evil spirit was either consumed, annihilated, ren-
dered powerless, or at least existed by itself with-
out admixture of the divine, then the Kabbalistic

CH. IV. MESSIANIC REDEMPTION. 121

order (Olam ha-Tikkun) would prevail, streams of
mercy would pour forth without let or hindrance
upon the lower world through the channels of the
Sefiroth, and fructify and miraculously quicken it.
This work of redemption can be accomplished by
every truly pious man (Zaddik), who having an en-
lightened soul, and being initiated into the Kabbala,
stands in close union with the world of spirits, com-
prehends the connection between the upper and
lower world, and fulfills all religious exercises
(Kewanoth) with concentrated devotion and with
due regard to their influence upon the higher pow-
ers. Still more effectually the Messiah, the son of
David, will accomplish the annihilation of demoniacal
powers and the restoration of lost souls, or rather
the collection of the scattered elements of the uni-
versal soul of Adam. For to the Messiah, in whom
dwells a pure, immaculate soul, are unfolded the
mysterious depths of the higher worlds, essences,
and divine creation, even the Divine Being Himself.
The Messiah of the seed of David would, to a cer-
tain extent, be the original man (Adam Kadmon)
incarnate, part of the Godhead.

This Luryan mysticism dazzled the bewildered
brain of the Smyrna youth, and produced such con-
fusion and giddiness, that he. thought he could easily
usher in this spiritual redemption, which would be
immediately followed by that of the body. In what
manner this haughty wish to play the part of a Mes-
siah germinates and breaks forth in enthusiastic
minds, is an impenetrable riddle. Sabbatai Zevi
was not the first to believe himself able to reverse
the whole order of the world, by mystical hocus-
pocus, and partly to succeed in the endeavor. Cer-
tain it is that the extravagant notions entertained
by Jews and Christians with regard to the near ap-
proach of the time of grace worked upon Sabbatai's
weak brain. That book of falsehoods, the Zohar,
declared that in the year of the world 5408 (1648)

122 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

the era of redemption would dawn, and precisely in
that year Sabbatai revealed himself to his train of
youthful companions as the Messianic redeemer.
It happened in an apparently insignificant manner,
but the mode of revelation was of great import to
the initiated. Sabbatai Zevi uttered the full four-
lettered name of God in Hebrew (Jhwh, the Tetra-
grammaton) without hesitation, although this was
strictly prohibited in the Talmud and by the usage
of ages. The Kabbalists attached all sorts of mys-
tical importance to this prohibition. During the
dispersion of Israel, the perfection of God Himself
was to a certain extent destroyed, on account of the
sinfulness of men and the degradation of the Jewish
people, since the Deity could not carry out His
moral plan. The higher and lower worlds were
divided from each other by a deep gulf; the four
letters of God's name were parted asunder. With
the Messianic period of redemption the moral order
of the world, as God had laid it down in the plan of
the universe, and the perfection and unity of God
would be restored. When Sabbatai Zevi permitted
himself to pronounce the name of God in full, he
thereby proclaimed that the time of grace had begun
with him.

However, despite his pious, mystical life, he had
too little authority at the age of two and twenty for
the rabbis to allow an infraction of the existing
order of things, which might lead to further inroads.
When Zevi's pretensions became known some years
later, the college of rabbis, at their head his teacher
Joseph Eskapha, laid him and his followers under a
ban. Many bickerings ensued in the community,
the particulars of which are not known. Finally he
and his disciples were banished from Smyrna (about
1651). The Messianic delusion appeared to have
been extinguished, but it smouldered on, and broke
out again, about fifteen years later, in a bright, con-
suming flame. This persecution, far from terrifying

CH. IV. ABRAHAM YACHINI. 123

Sabbatai Zevi, gave him a sense of his dignity. The
idea of a suffering Messiah had been transplanted
from Christianity to Judaism ; it was the accepted
view that humiliation was the precursor of the Mes-
siah's exaltation and glorification. Sabbatai believed
in himself, and his disciples, amongst them Moses
Pinheiro, a man of mature age, highly esteemed for
scientific acquirements, shared the belief with
tenacity. If the Messiah had been obliged to beg
his way through the world, his illusion would not have
long held its ground. But Sabbatai was richly pro-
vided with means, he could maintain his independ-
ence and his presumed dignity, and win adherents to
his cause. At first, however, he kept himself in
concealment, did not say much about his Messiah-
ship, and thereby escaped ridicule. Whither he be-
took himself after his banishment from his native
city is not quite certain ; probably to the Turkish
capital, where dwelt the largest Jewish community,
in which were so many clean and unclean elements,
that everyone could find companions for plans and
adventures. Here he made the acquaintance of a
preacher, Abraham Yachini, who confirmed him in
his delusion. Yachini stood in high repute on ac-
count of his talent as a preacher. He was a needy
and artful fellow, and made neat transcriptions fora
Dutch Christian, who dabbled in Oriental literature.
From selfish motives or delight in mystification, and
to confirm Sabbatai Zevi in his delusion, Yachini
palmed off upon him an apocryphal manuscript in
archaic characters, which he alleged bore ancient
testimony to Sabbatai's Messiahship.

" I, Abraham, was shut up for forty years in a cave, and wondered
that the time of miracles did not make its appearance. Then a voice
replied to me, 'A son shall be born in the year of the world 5386
(1626), and be called Sabbatai. He shall quell the great dragon : he
is the true Messiah, and shall wage war without weapons.' '

This document, which the young fanatic himself
appears to have taken for a genuine revelation,

124 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

became later on the source of many mystifications
and impostures. However, it appeared inadvisable
to the dupe and the deceiver that he should appear
in Constantinople. Salonica, which had always paid
homage to mysticism, seemed a more suitable field
for Kabbalistic extravagances. Here, therefore,
Sabbata'i resided for some time, gained adherents,
and came forward with greater boldness. Here he
enacted one of his favorite scenes, by which he after-
wards worked upon the imagination of the Kab-
balists. He prepared a solemn festival, invited^ his
friends, sent for the sacred book (Torah), and inti-
mated to those present, that he was about to cele-
brate his mystical marriage with it. In the language
of the Kabbala this meant that the Torah, the
daughter of heaven, was to be united indissolubly
with the Messiah, the son of heaven, or En-Sof.
This scene displeased the discreet rabbis of Salonica,
and they decreed his banishment. Thence he be-
took himself to the Morea, probably to relatives and
friends of his father, and resided for some time at
Athens, where at that time there was a Jewish com-
munity. When the Jews of this region heard of the
sentence pronounced upon him, they gave him no
encouragement. This opposition, far from dis-
couraging him, only served to make him bolder ; he
probably regarded his sufferings as necessary for
the glorification of the Messiah.

At last, after long wandering, a prospect of real-
izing his dream presented itself at Cairo. In the
Egyptian capital there was a Jewish mint-master
and tax-farmer, with the title of Saraph-Bashi, similar
to the Alabarchs at Alexandria in earlier ages. At
that time (after 1656) the office was held by Raphael
Joseph Chelebi, of Aleppo, a man of great wealth
and open-handed benevolence, but of unspeakable
credulity, and ineradicable propensity to mysticism
and asceticism. Fifty learned Talmudists and Kab-
balists were supported by him, and dined at his

CH. IV. RAPHAEL JOSEPH CHELEBI. 125

table. Everyone who sought his compassion found
help and relief in his need. While riding in the
royal chariot, and appearing in splendid robes, he
wore sackcloth underneath, fasted and bathed much,
and frequently at night scourged himself. Samuel
Vital, a son of Chayim Calabrese, superintended his
constant penances according to the Kabbalistic pre-
cepts of Lurya (Tikkun Lurya). These were in-
tended, as has been stated, to hasten the coming of
the Messiah. To be in Cairo and not to make
Raphael Joseph's acquaintance was an inconceivable
course for a Kabbalist. Sabbatai Zevi thus came
into his circle, and won his confidence the sooner,
as, owing to his independent position, he did not
desire anything of him. He appears to have par-
tially revealed his Messianic plans to Raphael. He
had grown older, maturer, and wiser, and knew how
to make men amenable to his wishes. The Apo-
calyptic year, 1666, was drawing near, and it was
important to use the auspicious moment.

He betook himself to Jerusalem, perhaps under
the delusion that in the Holy Land a miracle would
take place to confirm his greatness. The com-
munity at Jerusalem was at that time in every way
poor and wretched. Besides being ground down
by the oppressions and extortions of Turkish offi-
cials, it suffered because the supplies from Europe
were exhausted on account of the constant massacres
of the Jews in Poland. The consequence was that
the best men emigrated, leaving the government of
the community to thorough-going Kabbalists, de-
voted adherents of Lurya and Vital, or to a licen-
tious set, who followed the impulses of bare-faced
selfishness. There were at that time very few men
of repute and authority in Jerusalem. A Marrano
physician named Jacob Zemach appears to have
stood at their head. He had leapt, so to speak, in
one bound from a Portuguese church into the nest
of Kabbalists at Safet, and there, as later at Jeru-

126 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

salem, had become an unconscious tool for the
mystifications practiced by Vital. Abraham Amigo,
a Talmudist of the second or third rank, had similar
aims. A man of some importance, to be sure, was
Jacob Chages (1620-1674), who had migrated from
Italy to Jerusalem, and who wrote Spanish well.
Chages, however, had no official position, but lived
the life of a recluse in an academy, which two bro-
thers named Vega, of Leghorn, had founded for him.
The thoughtless credulity of the people of Jerusalem
of that time is instanced by the gross deception
practiced upon them by Baruch Gad, one of their
alms-collecting emissaries, which they, the learned
and the unlearned, not only credited, but swore to
as true. Baruch Gad had gone on a begging jour-
ney to Persia, where he pretended that he had
experienced many adventures, and had been saved
by a Jew of the tribe of Naphtali, who had given him
a Kabbalistic letter from one of the " Sons of Moses"
at the miraculous river Sabbation. It contained
much about the riches, splendor, and daily miracles
of the Sons of Moses, and said that they were
momentarily awaiting the commencement of the
Messianic epoch as a signal for coming forth. This
story, certified by a circular, was brought by Baruch
Gad to Jerusalem, where it found unquestioning cre-
dence. When the community of Jerusalem had
fallen into great want in consequence of the Cossack
massacre, ten so-called rabbis, Jacob Zemach at
their head, sent to Reggio to their envoy Nathan
Spira, of Jerusalem, a copy of this document from
the Sons of Moses, which was kept in careful cus-
tody. It was to serve as a bait to draw more
abundant alms.

The miracle which Sabbata'i Zevi was expecting
for jiimself in the Holy City was present in the cre-
dulity and mania for miracles on the part of the
people of Jerusalem, who were inclined, like the
lowest savages, to accept any absurd message as a

CH. IV. SABBATAI S HABITS.

divine revelation, if only it was brought before them
in the right manner. At first the Smyrna enthu-
siast kept himself quiet, and gave no offense. He
lived according to the precepts of the Kabbala,
imposed the severest mortifications on himself, and
often stayed by the graves of pious men in order to
draw down their spirits. Thereby, aided by his pleas-
ing, attractive, and reverential behavior and taciturn
manner, he gradually gathered round him a circle of
adherents who had blind faith in him. One of his
devoted followers related with credulous simplicity,
that Sabbatai Zevi shed floods of tears in prayer.
He sang Psalms the whole night with his melodious
voice, while pacing the room now with short, now
with long strides. His whole conduct was out of
the ordinary groove. He was also wont to sing
coarse love songs in Spanish, with a mystical mean-
ing, about the emperor's fair daughter Melisselda,
with her coral lips and milk-white skin, as she rose
out of the bath. Sabbatai used another means to
win hearts. When he showed himself in the streets
he distributed sweet-meats of all sorts to the chil-
dren, who in consequence ran after him, and he
thus gained the favor of their mothers.

An incident brought his eccentric ideas nearer
their realization. The community at Jerusalem was
sentenced by one of the pachas or some minor offi-
cial to one of those oppressive exactions which fre-
quently carried torture or death in their train. The
impoverished members rested their hopes solely
on Raphael Joseph Chelebi at Cairo, known to have
the means and inclination to succor his afflicted
brethren, especially the saints of Jerusalem. A
messenger was to be sent to him, and Sabbatai Zevi
was universally regarded as the most fitting, partic-
ularly as he was a favorite with the Saraph-Bashi.
He undertook this task willingly, because he hoped
to get the opportunity to play the part of saviour of
the Holy City. His worshipers date from this jour-

128 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

ney to Egypt the beginning of his miraculous power,
and assert that he accomplished many miracles at
sea. Sabbatai however traveled not by water, but
by land, by way of Hebron and Gaza., probably join-
ing a caravan through the desert. He excited so
much attention that all the Jews of Hebron, in order
to observe him, refrained from sleep during the
night of his stay. Arrived at Cairo, he immediately
received from Chelebi the sum required for the
ransom of the community at Jerusalem, and, besides,
an extraordinarily favorable opportunity presented
itself to confirm his Messianic dreams.

During the massacre of the Jews in Poland by
Chmielnicki, a Jewish orphan girl of about six was
found by Christians, and put into a nunnery. Her
parents were dead, a brother had been driven to
Amsterdam, the whole community broken up and
put to flight, and no one troubled himself about the
forsaken child, so that the nuns of the convent re-
garded the foundling as a soul brought to them and
gave her a Christian conventual education. The
impressions received in the house of her parents
were so lively, that Christianity found no entrance
into her heart ; she remained faithful to Judaism.
Nevertheless, her soul was nourished by fantastic
dreams induced by her surroundings, and her
thoughts took an eccentric direction. She devel-
oped into a lovely girl, and longed to escape from the
cloister. One day she was found by Jews, who had
again settled in the place, in the Jewish cemetery.
Astonished at finding a beautiful girl of sixteen
lightly clad in such a position, they questioned her,
and received answer that she was of Jewish extrac-
tion, and had been brought up in a convent. The
night before, she said, she had been bodily seized
by her father's ghost, and carried out of bed to the
cemetery. In support of her statement, she showed
the women nail-marks on her body, which were
said to come from her father's hands. She ap-

CH. IV. SABBATAl'S WIFE. 1 29

pears to have learnt in the convent the art of pro-
ducing scars on her body. The Jews thought it
dangerous to keep a fugitive from the convent in
their midst, and sent her to Amsterdam. There
she found her brother. Eccentric by nature and
excited by the change in her fortunes, she continu-
ally repeated the words, that she was destined to be
the wife of the Messiah, who was soon to appear.
After she had lived some years in Amsterdam under
the name of Sarah, she came — it is not known for
what purpose — by way of Frankfort-on-the-Main to
Leghorn. There, as credible witnesses aver, she
put her charms to immoral use, yet continued to
maintain that she was dedicated to the Messiah,
and could contract no other marriage. The strange
history of this Polish girl circulated amongst the
Jews, and penetrated even to Cairo. Sabbatai Zevi,
who heard of it, gave out that a Polish-Jewish maiden
had been promised to him in a dream as his spirit-
ual wife. He sent a messenger to Leghorn, and
had Sarah brought to Cairo.

By her fantastical, free, self-confident behavior
and by her beauty, Sarah made a peculiar impres-
sion upon Sabbatai and his companions. He him-
self was firmly convinced of his Messiahship. To
Sabbatai and his friends the immoral life of this
Polish adventuress was not unknown. This also
was said to be a Messianic dispensation ; he had
been directed, like the prophet Hosea, to marry an
unchaste wife. No one was so happy as Raphael
Joseph Chelebi, because at his house the Messiah
met his bride, and was married. He placed his
wealth at the disposal of Sabbatai Zevi, and became
his most influential follower. The warm adhesion
of so dignified, respected, and powerful a man
brought many believers to Sabbatai. It was rightly
said, that he had come to Egypt as a messenger,
and returned as the Messiah. For, from this second
residence at Cairo dates his public career. Sarah,

130 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

also, the Messiah's fair bride, brought him many dis-
ciples. Through her a romantic, licentious element
entered into the fantastic career of the Smyrna
Messiah. Her beauty and free manner of life at-
tracted youths and men who had no sympathy with
the mystical movement. With a larger following
than when he started, Sabbatai returned to Pales-
tine, bringing two talismans of more effective power
than Kabbalistic means — Sarah's influence and
Chelebi's money. At Gaza he found a third con-
federate, who helped to smooth his path.

At Jerusalem there lived a man named Elisha
Levi, who had migrated thither from Germany. The
Jews of the Holy City dispatched him to all parts
of the world with begging letters. Whilst he was
roaming through northern Africa, Amsterdam, Ham-
burg, and Poland, his son Nathan Benjamin Levi
(1644—1680) was left to himself, or the perverse ed-
ucation of that time. He developed, in the school
of Jacob Chages, into a youth with superficial knowl-
edge of the Talmud, acquired Kabbalistic scraps,
and obtained facility in the high-sounding, but hol-
low, nonsensical Rabbinical style of the period,
which concealed poverty of thought beneath ver-
biage. The pen was his faithful instrument, and
replaced the gift of speech, in which he had little
facility. This youth was suddenly raised from press-
ing poverty to opulence. A rich Portuguese, Sam-
uel Lisbona, who had moved from Damascus to
Gaza, asked Jacob Chages to recommend a husband
for his beautiful, but one-eyed daughter, and he
suggested his disciple Nathan Benjamin. Thus he
became connected with a rich house, and in conse-
quence of his change of fortune, lost all stability, if
he had had any. When Sabbatai Zevi, with a large
train of followers, came to Gaza on his way back
from Cairo, posing as the Messiah, and accepted as
such by the crowds gathering about him, Nathan
Ghazati (i.e., of Gaza) entered into close relationship

CH. IV. NATHAN GHAZATI.

with him. In what way their mutual acquaintance
and attachment arose is not explained. Sabbatai's
disciples declared that Nathan had dug up a part
of the ancient writing, wherein Zevi's Messiahship
was testified. It is probably nearer the truth, that
Sabbatai, to convince Ghazati of his mission, palmed
off on him the spurious document received from
Abraham Yachini. At any rate Nathan became his
most zealous adherent, whether from conviction or
from a desire to play a prominent part, can no
longer be discerned in this story, in which simple
faith, self-deception, and willful imposture, border
so close on one another.

After Nathan Ghazati and Sabbatai had become
acquainted, the former a youth of twenty, the latter
a man of forty, prophetic revelations followed close
upon one another. Ghazati professed to be the
risen Elijah, who was to pave the way for the
Messiah. He gave out that he had received a
call on a certain day (probably the eve of the Pen-
tecost, 1665), that in a year and a few months the
Messiah would show himself in his glory, would
take the sultan captive without arms, only with
music, and establish the dominion of Israel over all
the nations of the earth. The Messianic age was to
begin in the year 1666. This revelation was pro-
claimed everywhere in writing by the pretended
prophet of Gaza., with the addition of wild fantasies
and suggestive details. He wrote to Raphael
Joseph acknowledging the receipt of the moneys
sent by him, and begging him not to lose faith in
Sabbatai ; the latter would certainly in a year and
some months make the sultan his subject and lead
him about as a captive. The dominion would be
entrusted to Nathan, until he should conquer the
other nations without bloodshed, warring only
against Germany, the enemy of the Jews. Then
the Messiah would betake himself to the banks of
the river Sabbation, and there espouse the daughter

I32 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

of the great prophet, Moses, who at the age of thir-
teen would be exalted as queen, with Sarah as her
slave. Finally, he would lead back the ten tribes to
the Holy Land, riding upon a lion with a seven-
headed dragon in its jaws. The more exaggerated
and absurd Nathan's prophetic vaporings were, the
more credence did they find. A veritable fit of in-
toxication took possession of nearly all the Jews of
Jerusalem and the neighboring communities. With
a prophet, formerly a shy youth, proclaiming so
great a message, and a Messiah, more profoundly
versed in the Kabbala than Chayim Vital, who could
venture to doubt the approach of the time of grace ?
Those who shook their heads at this rising impos-
ture were laughed to scorn by the Sabbatians.

The rabbinical leaders of the Jerusalem com-
munity were unfavorably struck by this Messianic
movement, and sought to stifle it at its birth. It
was sufficient to prejudice them against Sabbatai
that he stood in the foreground, and put them in the
shade. He is said to have distributed the money
from Egypt according to his own discretion, and in
the division to have unduly favored his own follow-
ers. Jacob Chages and his college threatened him
with the heaviest excommunication if he should per-
sist in his course. Sabbatai Zevi appears to have
cared little for this, especially as a ban could have
no effect if the community was on his side. Even
Moses Galante, the son-in-law of Jacob Chages, es-
teemed as an authority in the Holy Land, regarded
him with respect, although, as he afterwards de-
clared, he did not believe in him unconditionally.
Sabbatai Zevi saw clearly that Jerusalem was not
the right place for his plans, as the rabbis would
place obstacles in his way. Nathan Ghazati there-
upon proclaimed in an ecstasy that Jerusalem had
lost its importance as the sacred city, and that Gaza
had taken its place. At Smyrna, his native city —
an important gathering-place for Europeans and

CH. IV. SAMUEL PRIMO. 133

Asiatics — Sabbatai thought he could obtain greater
success. His rich brothers prepared a good recep-
tion for him by the distribution of money amongst
the poor and needy, and Nathan's extravagant pro-
phetic letters had kindled the imagination of the
people. But before he left Jerusalem, Sabbatai took
care to dispatch active missionaries of a fanatical
and fraudulent character, to predict his Messianic
appearance, excite men's minds, and fill them with
his name. Sabbatai Raphael, a beggar and im-
postor from the Morea, enlarged in mountebank
fashion on the Messiah's greatness ; and a German
Kabbalist, Matathias Bloch, did the same in blind
simplicity.

Thus it came to pass that when Sabbatai Zevileft
Jerusalem — of his own accord, as he pretended,
banished, as others said — he was at once received
in triumph in the large Asiatic community of Aleppo.
Still greater was the homage paid him in his native
city (autumn 1665). The ban pronounced against
him was not remembered. He was accompanied
by a man of Jerusalem, Samuel Primo, who became
his private secretary, and one of his most zealous
recruiting agents. Samuel Primo understood the
art of investing trifles with an air of official serious-
ness and by a flowery style to give world-wide
importance to the Messianic imposture. He
alone remained sober in the midst of the ever-
increasing fanaticism, and gave aim and direction to
the enthusiasts. Primo appears to have heralded
Sabbatai's fame from conviction ; he had a secret
plan to be accomplished through the Messiah. He
appears to have made use of Sabbatai more than to
have been employed by him. Sabbatai had tact
-enough not to announce himself at once at Smyrna
as the Messiah; he commanded the believing mul-
titude not to speak of it until the proper time. But
this reserve, combined with other circumstances —
the ranting letters of Nathan, the arrival of some

134 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

men of Jerusalem who brought him the homage of
the Holy City (though without being commissioned
to do so), the severe mortifications which the people
inflicted on themselves, to atone for their sins and
become worthy of the coming of the Messiah — all
this worked upon the minds of the multitude, and
they could scarcely wait for the day of his revelation.
He had the Kabbalists on his side through his mys-
tical utterances. At length Sabbatai Zevi declared
himself publicly in the synagogue, with blowing of
horns, as the expected Messiah (New Year, Sep-
tember, or October, 1665), and the multitude shouted
to him, " Long live our King, our Messiah ! '

The proverb that a prophet is least honored in
his own country was for once belied. The madness
of the Jews of Smyrna knew no bounds. Every
sign of honor and enthusiastic love was shown him.
It was not joy, but delirium to feel that the long-
expected Messiah had at last appeared, and in their
own community. The delirium seized great and
small. Women, girls, and children fell into rap-
tures, and proclaimed Sabbatai Zevi in the language
of the Zohar as the true redeemer. The word of
the prophet, that God at the end of the world will
pour forth his spirit upon the young, appeared ful-
filled. All prepared for a speedy exodus, the re-
turn to the Holy Land. Workmen neglected their
business, and thought only of the approaching king-
dom of the Messiah. The confusion in men's brains
showed itself in the way in which the Sabbatians of
Smyrna strove to merit a share in the time of grace.
On the one hand, they subjected themselves to in-
credible penances — fasted several days in succes-
sion, refrained from sleep for nights, in order that,
by Kabbalistic prayers (Tikkunim) at midnight, they
might wipe away their sins, and bathed in extremely
cold weather, even with snow on the ground. Some
buried themselves up to the neck in the soil, and
remained in their damp graves until their limbs were

CH. IV. MESSIANIC EXTRAVAGANCES. 135

stiff with cold. On the other hand, they abandoned
themselves to the most extravagant delight, and
celebrated festival after festival in honor of the Mes-
siah, whenever Sabbatai Zevi showed himself —
always with a large train of followers — or walked
through the streets singing Psalms, " The right hand
of the Lord is exalted, the right hand of the Lord
bringeth victory," or preached in a synagogue, and
proved his Messiahship by Kabbalistic interpreta-
tions of Scripture. He showed himself only in pro-
cession in public, waved a fan to cool himself, and
whoever was touched with it was sure of the king-
dom of heaven. The delirious joy of his followers
knew no bounds. Every word of his was repeated
a thousand times as the word of God, expounded,
exaggerated, and intensified. All that he did was
held as miraculous, published, and believed. The
madness went so far that his adherents in Smyrna
and elsewhere, as at Salonica, that Kabbalist hot-
bed of old, married their children of twelve, ten, and
even younger, to one another — seven hundred
couples in all — that, according to Kabbalistic ideas,
they might cause the souls not yet born to enter
into life, and thereby remove the last obstacle to the
commencement of the time of grace.

The activity of Sabbatai Zevi in electrifying the
minds of simple believers, now by public pomp and
pageantry, now by silent retirement, was supple-
mented by Sarah, his wife, who by her loose conduct
worked on the passions of the male population.
The bonds of chastity, drawn much tighter among
Eastern Jews than in Europe, were broken. The
assembling of persons of both sexes in great multi-
tudes, hitherto unheard of, was a slight innovation.
In Messianic transports of delight men and women
danced with one another as if mad, and in mystical
fervor many excesses are said to have been com-
mitted. The voice of censure and caution was
gradually silenced ; all were drawn into the vortex,

136 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

and the unbelievers were rendered harmless. The
rabbi Aaron de la Papa (died 1674), an aged and
respectable man, who at first spoke against this
Messianic madness, and pronounced the ban against
its originator, together with other rabbis, was pub-
licly reviled in a sermon by Sabbata'i, removed from
office, and obliged to leave Smyrna.

Most unworthy was the behavior of the rabbi
Chayim Benvenisti (1603-1673), a very considerable
authority on the Talmud, and of astonishing learn-
ing, who, because he was a literary opponent of De
la Papa, not only suffered the latter's removal from
office, but allowed himself to be appointed in his
place by Sabbatai. Though at first harshly dis-
posed towards the new Messiah, he became a
believer, and led the multitude by his authority.
The latter were instigated by Sabbatai to blood-
thirsty fanaticism. Because a noble, rich, and re-
spected man in Smyrna, Chayim Penya, who had
liberally supported Chayim Benvenisti, opposed
the widespread delusion with obstinate incredulity,
he was suddenly attacked in the synagogue, perse-
cuted, and nearly torn to pieces by the raging
multitude. Sabbatai Zevi, the pretended incarna-
tion of piety, commanded the synagogue to be
broken open and the vile heretic to be seized. But
when Penya's daughters, likewise attacked by the
madness, fell into raptures, and prophesied, the
father had no choice but to put a good face upon
the wretched business. He also assumed the air of
a zealous adherent. After Penya's subjugation Sab-
batai Zevi became sole ruler in the community, and
could lead the Jewish population at will for good
or for evil. In this humor which lasted for some
months, the Jews of Smyrna feared their tyrants,
the Turkish cadis, very little ; if they offered to
check the prevailing tendency, they were induced by
rich presents to remain inactive.

These events in the Jews' quarter at Smyrna

CH. IV. SABBATAl'S ADHERENTS. 137

made a great sensation in ever-widening circles.
The neighboring communities of Asia Minor, many
members of which had betaken themselves to
Smyrna, and witnessing the scenes enacted in that
town, brought home exaggerated accounts of the
Messiah's power of attraction and of working mira-
cles, were swept into the same vortex. Sabbatai's
private secretary, Samuel Primo, took care that
reports of the fame and doings of the Messiah should
reach Jews abroad. Nathan Ghazati sent circulars
from Palestine, while the itinerant prophets, Sab-
batai Raphael and Matathias Bloch, filled the ears
of their auditors with the most marvelous accounts
of the new redeemer. Christians also helped to
spread the story. The residents, the clerks of
English and Dutch mercantile houses, and the evan-
gelical ministers, reported the extraordinary occur-
rences in Smyrna, and though they scoffed at the
folly of the Jews, could not withhold half-credulous
sympathy. Did they not see with their own eyes
the ecstasies, and hear with their own ears the pre-
dictions, of the prophets and prophetesses of Sab-
batai Zevi, the true redeemer? On the exchanges
in Europe men spoke of him as a remarkable person-
age, and eagerly awaited news from Smyrna or Con-
stantinople. At first the Jews were dazed by the
reports that suddenly burst upon them. Was the
long cherished hope, that one day the oppression
and shame of Israel would be removed, and that he
would return in glory to his home, at length to be
realized ? No wonder that nearly everywhere
scenes similar to those in Smyrna were repeating
themselves, that men's minds were filled with cre-
dulity, accepting mere rumors as accredited facts,
or that wild excitement, ascetic living, and almsgiv-
ing to the needy, by way of preparation for the time
of the Messiah, were followed here and there by
prophetic ecstasies. Not only the senseless multi-
tude, but nearly all the rabbis, and even men of

138 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

culture and philosophical judgment, fell a prey to
this credulity.

At that time not a single man of weight and
importance recognized that the primary source of all
these phenomena lay in the Kabbala and the Zohar.
Jacob Sasportas, originally from Africa, had lived in
Amsterdam and London and, at this time, was in
Hamburg. He was born about 1620, and died 1698.
A man of courage and keen penetration, whose
word had weight through his Talmudical learning,
Sasportas from the first combated this Messi-
anic rage with passionate warmth. He was un-
wearied in sending letter after letter to the various
communities and their guides in Europe, Asia, and
Africa, to unmask the gross deceptions practiced,
and to warn against the sad consequences. But even
he was entangled in the snares of the Kabbala, and
adopted its principles. On the ground of this
spurious philosophy, thoroughgoing enthusiasts
were more in the right than half-hearted adherents.
Spinoza, who might have scattered this thick mist
with his luminous ideas, was not only estranged
from Judaism and his race, but even hostile to them,
and regarded the prevailing perplexities with in-
difference or malice.

The accounts of Sabbatai Zevi and the Messianic
excitement either came direct, or in a roundabout
way by Alexandria, to Venice, Leghorn, and other
Italian cities.

Venice was led by the bigoted Kabbalist Moses
Zacut, Spinoza's very uncongenial fellow-student,
who had formed the design of migrating from Am-
sterdam through Poland to Palestine, but stopped
short in Venice. Far from opposing the delusion
of the multitude, he encouraged it, as did the rabbi-
nate of Venice. The news from Smyrna had most
striking effect upon the great and the lesser Jerusa-
lem of the North. The prophet of Gaza, who was
not devoid of sober calculation, had directed his

CH. IV. THE AMSTERDAM SABBATIANS. 139

propagandist circulars to the most considerable and
the richest communities — Amsterdam and Hamburg.
These entered into close relationship with the new
Messianic movement. The Jews of Amsterdam and
Hamburg received confirmation of the extraordinary
events at Smyrna from trustworthy Christians, many
of whom were sincerely rejoiced thereat. Even
Heinrich Oldenburg, a distinguished German savant
in London, wrote to his friend Spinoza (December,
1665):—

"All the world here is talking of a rumor ot the return of the Israel-
ites, dispersed for more than two thousand years, to their own coun-
try. Few believe it, but many wish it. ... Should the news be con-
firmed, it may bring about a revolution in all things."

The number of believers in Amsterdam increased
daily among the Portuguese no less than among the
Germans, and numbers of educated people set the
example ; the rabbis Isaac Aboab and Raphael
Moses D'Aguilar, Spinoza's fellow-student Isaac
Naar, and Abraham Pereira, one of the capitalists
of Amsterdam and a writer on morals in Spanish,
all became believers. Even the semi-Spinozist
Dionysius Musaphia became a zealous adherent of
the new Messiah. In Amsterdam devotion to the
new faith expressed itself in contradictory ways —
by noisy music and dancing in the houses of prayer,
and by gloomy, monkish self-mortification. The
printing presses could not supply enough copies of
special prayer-books in Hebrew, Portuguese and
Spanish, for the multitude of believers. In these
books penances and formulas were given by which
men hoped to become partakers in the kingdom of
the Messiah. Many Sabbatian prayer-books (Tik-
kunim) printed Sabbata'i's likeness together with
that of King David, also the emblems of his domin-
ion, and select sentences from the Bible. In confi-
dent expectation of speedy return to the Holy
Land, the elders of one synagogue introduced the
custom of pronouncing the priestly blessing every
Sabbath.

I4O HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

At Hamburg, the Jews went to still greater
lengths of folly, because they wished to make a"
demonstration against the bigoted Christians, who
in many ways tormented them with vexatious re-
strictions, and when possible compelled them to lis-
ten to Christian sermons. Whoever entered the
synagogue, and saw the Jewish worshipers hop,
jump, and dance about with the roll of the Law in
their arms, serious, respectable men withal, of Span-
ish stateliness, had to take them for madmen. In
fact, a mental disease prevailed, which made men
childish; even the most distinguished in the com-
munity succumbed to it.

Manoel Texeira, also called Isaac Senor Texeira,
was born about 1630, and died about 1695. Some
months before the death of his father, Diego Texeira,
a Marrano nobleman who had emigrated from Por-
tugal and settled at Hamburg, Manoel became res-
ident minister, banker, and confidant of Christina,
former queen of Sweden. She valued him on ac-
count of his honesty, his noble bearing, and his
shrewdness. She exchanged letters with him on
important affairs, conferred with him on the political
interests of Europe, and credited him with deep,
statesmanlike views. During her residence at
Hamburg she took up her abode in Manoel Tex-
eira's house, to the vexation of the local ecclesiasti-
cal authorities — who were hostile to the Jews — and
remained quite unconcerned, although the Protest-
ant preachers censured her severely from the
pulpits. Men of the highest rank resorted to Tex-
eira's house, and played with him for high stakes.
This Jewish cavalier also belonged to Sabbatai's ad-
herents, and joined in the absurd dances ; as also
the skillful and famous physician Bendito de Castro
(Baruch Nehemiah), now advanced in years, for a
time the physician of the queen during her residence
in Hamburg. De Castro was at that time director
of the Hamburg community, and by his order the

CH. IV. SABBATIANS IN ENGLAND.

Messianic follies were practiced in the synagogue.
Jacob Sasportas, who because of the outbreak of the
plague in London at that time resided in Hamburg,
used serious arguments and satire against this Mes-
sianic delusion ; but he could not make his voice
heard, and only just escaped rough handling by the
Sabbatians. The community recently established
in London in the reign of Charles II, which had
elected Jacob Sasportas as chief rabbi, was no less
possessed with this craze. It derived additional
encouragement from contact with Christian enthu-
siasts who hoped to bring about the millennium.
Curious reports flew from mouth to mouth. It was
said, that in the north of Scotland a ship had ap-
peared, with silken sails and ropes, manned by sail-
ors who spoke Hebrew. The flag bore the inscrip-
tion, "The Twelve Tribes or Families of Israel."
Believers living in London in English fashion offered
wagers at the odds of ten to one that Sabbatai
would be anointed king at Jerusalem within two
years, and drew formal bills of exchange upon the
issue. Wherever Jews dwelt, news of the Kabbal-
istic Messiah of Smyrna penetrated, and everywhere
produced wild excitement. The little community
of Avignon, which was not treated in the mildest
manner by the papal officers, prepared to emigrate
to the kingdom of Judah in the spring of the year
1666.

If Sabbatai Zevi had not hitherto firmly believed
in himself and his dignity, this homage from nearly
the whole Jewish race must have awakened con-
viction. Every day advices, messengers, and depu-
tations came pouring in, greeting him in most flat-
tering terms as king of the Jews, placing life and
property at his disposal, and overwhelming him
with gifts. Had he been a man of resolute deter-
mination and strength of will, he might have ob-
tained results of importance with this genuine en-
thusiasm and willing devotion of his believers. Even

142 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

Spinoza entertained the possibility, with this favor-
able opportunity and the mutability of human things,
that the Jews might re-establish their kingdom,
and again be the chosen of God. But Sabbatai
Zevi was satisfied with the savor of incense. He
cherished no great design, or rather, he lived in the
delusion that men's expectations would fulfill them-
selves of their own accord by a miracle. Samuel
Primo and some of his confidants appear, however,
to have followed a fixed plan, namely, to modify the
Rabbinical system, or even to abolish it. That was
in reality implied in the reign of the Messiah. The
fundamental conception of the Zohar, the Bible of the
Kabbalists, is that in the time of grace, in the world
of order (Olam ha-Tikkun), the laws of Judaism, the
regulations concerning lawful and forbidden things,
would completely lose their significance. Now this
time, the Sabbatians thought, had already begun ;
consequently, the minute ritualistic code of the
Shulchan Aruch ought no longer to be held binding.
Whether Sabbatai himself drew this conclusion, is
doubtful. But some of his trusted adherents gave
this theory prominence. A certain bitterness
towards the Talmud and the Talmudic method of
teaching prevailed in this circle. The Sabbatian
mystics felt themselves confined by the close meshes
of the Rabbinical network, and sought to disentangle
it loop by loop. They set up a new deity, substi-
tuting a man-god for the God of Israel. In their
wanton extravagance the Kabbalists had so entirely
changed the conception of the deity, that it had
dwindled away into nothing. On the other hand,
they had so exalted and magnified the Messiah, that
he was close to God. The Sabbatians, or one of
them (Samuel Primo?), built on this foundation.
From the Divine bosom (the Ancient of Days),
they said, a new divine personage had sprung,
capable of restoring the order in the world intended
in the original plan of Divine Perfection. This new

CH. IV. DEIFICATION OF SABBATAI. 143

person was the Holy King (Malka Kadisha), the
Messiah, the Primal Man (Adam Kadmon), who
would destroy evil, sin, and corruption, and cause
the dried-up streams of grace to flow again. He,
the holy king, the Messiah, is the true God, the re-
deemer and saviour of the world, the God of Israel;
to him alone should prayers be addressed. The
Holy King, or Messiah, combines two natures — one
male, the other female ; he can do more on account
of his higher wisdom than the Creator of the world.
Samuel Primo, who dispatched circulars and ordi-
nances in the name of the Messianic king, often
used the signature, " I, the Lord, your God, Sabbatai
Zevi." Whether the Smyrna fanatic authorized such
blasphemous presumptuousness cannot be decided,
any more than whether in his heart he considered
the Jewish law null and void. For, although some
Sabbatians, who uttered these absurdities, pretended
to have heard them from his own lips, other disciples
asserted that he was an adherent of traditional Ju-
daism.

The truth probably is that Sabbatai Zevi, ab-
sorbed in idle ruminating, accepted everything which
the more energetic among his followers taught or
suggested. They began the dissolution of Judaism
by the transformation of the fast of the tenth of
Tebeth (Asara be-Tebeth) into a day of rejoicing.
Samuel Primo, in the name of his divinity, directed
a circular to the whole of Israel in semi-official form:

" The first-begotten Son of God, Sabbatai' Zevi, Messiah and Re-
deemer of the people of Israel, to all the sons of Israel, Peace ! Since
ye have been deemed worthy to behold the great day and the fulfill-
ment of God's word by the prophets, your lament and sorrow must
be changed into joy, and your fasting into merriment, for ye shall
weep no more. Rejoice with song and melody, and change the day
formerly spent in sadness and sorrow, into a day of jubilee, because
I have appeared."

So firmly rooted in men's minds was faith in Sab-
batai Zevi, that the communities which the letter
reached in time discontinued this fast, although

144 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

they believed that they could enter into the kingdom
of the Messiah only by strict abstinence. The staunch
orthodox party, however, was shocked at this innova-
tion. They could not conceive the Messiah as other
than a pious rabbi, who, if possible, would invent
fresh burdens. A thousand times had they read in
the Zohar, and repeated to one another, that in the
time of the Messiah the days of mourning would be
changed into days of feasting, and the Law in gen-
eral would be no longer binding ; but when words
were changed into deeds, horror seized them.
Those rabbis who before had regarded the move-
ment half incredulously, or had not interfered with the
penances and deeds of active benevolence to which
many of the Sabbatians had felt prompted, thereby
giving silent assent, now raised their voice against
the law-destroying Messiahship. There began to
be formed in every large community a small party
of unbelievers (Kofrim), chiefly men learned in the
Talmud, who desired to guard the established re-
ligion against attacks and disruption.

Rabbinical Judaism and the Kabbala, hitherto in
close confederation, began to be at variance with
each other; this doubtful ally showing herself at
last in her true form as the enemy of Rabbinism.
But this sobering discovery, that the Kabbala was
a serpent nursed into life by the rabbis themselves,
was recognized only by a few. They still remained true
to her, imputing the growing hostility to the Shul-
chan Aruch to Sabbata'i and his aiders and abettors.
It was too late, their voices were drowned in shouts
of joy. Solomon Algazi, and some members of the
Smyrna rabbinate who shared his opinions, tried to
oppose the abolition of the fast, but were nearly
stoned to death by the multitude of believers, and
were obliged, like Aaron de la Papa, to leave the
city in haste.

But the Messiah was at last forced to tear him-
self out of his fool's paradise and the atmosphere

CH. IV. SABBATAI SUMMONED TO CONSTANTINOPLE. 145

of incense in Smyrna, in order to accomplish his
work in the Turkish capital — either because his fol-
lowers compelled him to put his light, not under a
bushel, but upon it, that the world at large might
see it, or because the cadi could no longer endure
the mad behavior of the Jews, and did not wish to
bear the sole responsibility. It is said that the cadi
gave Sabbatai Zevi three days to go to Constanti-
nople and appear before the highest Turkish author-
ities. In his delusion, Zevi perhaps believed that
a miracle would fulfill the prophecies of Nathan
Ghazati and other prophets, that he would easily be
able to take the crown from the sultan. He pre-
pared for his journey. Before he left Smyrna, he
divided the world among his six-and-twenty faithful
ones, and called them kings and princes. His
brothers, Elijah and Joseph Zevi, received the lion's
share ; the former was named king of kings, the
latter king of the kings of Judah. To his other
faithful followers he disclosed, in Kabbalistic lan-
guage, which soul of the former kings of Judah or
Israel dwelt in each of their bodies, that is, had
passed into them by transmigration. Among the
better known names were those of the companion
of his youth, Isaac Silveira, and Abraham Yachini at
Constantinople, who had imparted to him the art of
mysticism. Raphael Joseph Chelebi could least of
all be passed over ; he had been the first firm sup-
porter of the Messiah, and was called King Joash.
A Marrano physician, who had escaped from Por-
tugal, and was his devoted adherent, received the
crown of Portugal. Even his former opponent
Chayim Penya received a kingdom of his own. A
beggar, Abraham Rubio of Smyrna, was likewise
raised to a throne, under the name of Josiah, and was
so firmly convinced of his approaching sovereignty
that he refused large sums for his imaginary kingdom.
Sabbatai Zevi appears purposely to have started
on his Messianic journey to Constantinople exactly

146 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

at the beginning of the mystic year 1666. He was
accompanied by some of his followers, his secretary
Samuel Primo being in his train. He had an-
nounced the day of his arrival at Constantinople,
but circumstances proved false to him. The ship
in which he sailed had to contend with bad weather,
and the voyage was prolonged by weeks. Since
the sea did not devour him, the Sabbatians com-
posed marvelous stories describing how the storm
and the waves had obeyed the Messiah. At
some place on the coast of the Dardanelles the pas-
sengers of the weather-beaten vessel were obliged
to land, and there Sabbatai was arrested by Turkish
officers, sent to take him prisoner. The grand
vizir, Ahmed Coprili, had heard of the excitement
of the Jews in Smyrna, and desired to suppress it.
The officers had strict orders to bring the pretended
redeemer in fetters to the capital, and therefore
hastened to meet the ship by which he came. Ac-
cording to orders, they put him in fetters, and
brought him to a small town in the neighborhood of
Constantinople, because the eve of the Sabbath was
near. Informed by a messenger of his arrival at
Cheknese Kutschuk, his followers hastened from
the capital to see him, but found him in a pitiable
plight and in chains. The money which they
brought with them procured him some alleviation,
and on the following Sunday (February, 1666), he
was brought by sea to Constantinople — but in how
different a manner to what he and his believers had
anticipated ! However, his coming caused excite-
ment. At the landing-place there was such a crowd
of Jews and Turks who desired to see the Messiah,
that the police were obliged to superintend the dis-
embarkation. An under-pasha commissioned to
receive him welcomed the man-god with a vigorous
box on the ear. Sabbatai Zevi is said, however, to
have wisely turned the other cheek to the blow.
Since he could not play the part of the triumphant,

CH. IV. SABBATAI A PRISONER. 147

he at least wished to play that of the suffering Mes-
siah with good grace. When brought before the
deputy-vizir (Kaimakam), Mustapha Pasha, he did
not stand the first test brilliantly. Asked what his
intentions were, and why he had roused the Jews to
such a pitch of excitement, Sabbata'i is said to have
answered that he was nothing more than a Jewish
Chacham, come from Jerusalem to the capital to col-
lect alms ; he could not help it if the Jews testified
so much devotion to him. Mustapha thereupon
sent him to a prison in which insolvent Jewish debt-
ors were confined.

Far from being disappointed at this treatment,
his followers in Constantinople persisted in their
delusion. For some days they kept quietly at home,
because the street boys mocked them by shouting,
" Is he coming ? is he coming? " (Gheldi mi, Gheldi
mi.) But they soon began again to assert that he
was the true Messiah, and that the sufferings which
he had encountered were necessary, a condition to
his glorification. The prophets continued to pro-
claim the speedy redemption of Sabbatai and of all
Israel. A Turkish dervish filled the streets of Con-
stantinople with prophecies of the Messiah, whose
enemies said that Sabbatai's followers had bribed
him. Thousands crowded daily to Sabbatai's place
of confinement merely to catch a glimpse of him.
English merchants whose claims were not satisfied
by their Jewish debtors applied to the Messiah.
An order in his handwriting, admonishing defaulters
to do justice to their creditors, as otherwise they
would have no share in his joy and glory, had the
best effect. Samuel Primo took care that most fab-
ulous accounts should reach the Jews of Smyrna
and those at a distance, of the reverence paid the
Messiah by the Turkish authorities. At heart, he
wrote, they were all convinced of his dignity. The
expectations of the Jews were raised to a still higher
pitch, and the most exaggerated hopes fostered to

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

a greater degree. It was looked upon as a palpable
miracle that summary Turkish justice allowed him,
the rebellious Jew, to live. Did not this act of
mercy prove that he was feared? The Turkish
government in fact seems to have stood in awe of
the Jewish Messiah. The Cretan war was impend-
ing, which demanded all the energy of the half-
exhausted Turkish empire. The prudent grand
vizir, Ahmed Coprili, did not like to sentence him
to death, thus making a fresh martyr, and causing
a desperate riot among the Jews. Even the Turks,
charmed by Sabbatai's manner, and deceived by ex-
traordinary miraculous manifestations, especially by
the prophecies of women and children, joined the
ranks of his worshipers. It seemed to Coprili
equally dangerous to leave Sabbatai, during his ab-
sence at the war, in Constantinople, where he might
easily add fuel to the ever-increasing excitement in
the capital. He therefore commanded, after Sab-
batai had been imprisoned in Constantinople for
two months — from the beginning of February to
April 17 — that he be taken to the castle of the
Dardanelles at Abydos, where state-prisoners were
wont to be kept in custody. It was a mild confine-
ment ; some of his friends, among them Samuel
Primo, were allowed to accompany him thither.
The Sabbatians called this fortress by a mystical
name, the Tower of Strength (Migdal Oz).

If Sabbatai Zevi had doubted himself for a mo-
ment, his courage rose through his change of abode,
the respectful clemency shown him by the divan,
and the steady and increasing devotion of the Jews.
He felt himself the Messiah again. On his arrival
at the castle of the Dardanelles on April 19, the day
of preparation for the Passover, he slew a Paschal
lamb for himself and his followers, and ate it with
the fat, which is forbidden by the laws of the Talmud.
He is said, while doing so, to have used a blessing
which implied that the Mosaic, Talmudic, and Rab-

CH. IV. SABBATAI AT ABYDOS. 149

binical law was abrogated — " Blessed be God, who
hath restored again that which was forbidden." At
Abydos he held regular court with the large sums
of money which his brothers and his rich adherents
sent him with lavish hand. His wife Sarah, who
was allowed to remain with him, demeaned herself
as the Messianic queen, and bewitched the multitude
by her charms. From the Turkish capital a number
of ships conveyed his followers to the castle of the
Dardanelles. The fare on vessels rose in conse-
quence daily. From other countries and continents,
too, crowds of Jews streamed to the place of his
captivity, in the hope to be deemed worthy of be-
holding him. The governor of the castle reaped
advantage thereby, for he charged the visitors en-
trance money, and raised it to fifteen or thirty marks
a head. Even the inhabitants of the place profited,
because they could earn high prices for board and
lodging. A veritable shower of gold poured into
Abydos. The impression which these facts, indus-
triously circulated and exaggerated, made on the
Jews in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and the effect
which they produced, are indescribable. With few
exceptions all were convinced of Sabbata'i's Mes-
siahship, and of a speedy redemption, in two years
at the latest. They argued that he had had the
courage to go to the Turkish capital, although he
had openly proclaimed the dethronement of the
sultan, yet had not forfeited his life, but had been
left in a sort of mock imprisonment. What more
was needed to confirm the predictions of prophets
of ancient and modern times ? The Jews accord-
ingly prepared seriously to return to their original
home. In Hungary they began to unroof their
houses. In large commercial cities, where Jews
took the lead in wholesale business, such as Am-
sterdam, Leghorn, and Hamburg, stagnation of
trade ensued. In almost all synagogues his initials,
S and Z, were posted up with more or less adorn-

I5O HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

ment. Almost everywhere a prayer for him was
inserted in the following form : " Bless our Lord
and King, the holy and righteous Sabbatai Zevi, the
Messiah of the God of Jacob." In Europe the eyes
of all communities were directed to Amsterdam, the
representatives of which adhered to the movement
most enthusiastically. Every post-day which brought
fresh letters was a holiday for them. The Amster-
dam Jews showed their joy openly, and were afraid
neither of the Christian population nor of the mag-
istrates. Isaac Naar, of Amsterdam, and the rich
Abraham Pereira, prepared themselves for a journey
to the Messiah, and the former ironically announced
it to the unbelieving Jacob Sasportas. The Ham-
burg community always imitated that of Amster-
dam, or went beyond it. The council introduced
the custom of praying for Sabbatai Zevi, not only
on Saturday, but also on Monday and Thursday.
The unbelievers were compelled to remain in the
synagogue and join in the prayer with a loud Amen.
And all this was done at the suggestion of the edu-
cated physician Bendito de Castro. The believers
went so far as to threaten their opponents if they
ventured to utter a word of censure against Sab-
batai. At Venice, on the Sabbath, a quarrel broke
out between the Sabbatians and their opponents,
and one of the latter nearly lost his life. When
Sabbatai was asked how the Kofrim (unbelievers)
should be dealt with, he, or Samuel Primo, answered
that they might be put to death without ado, even
on the Sabbath ; the executors of such punishment
were sure to enjoy eternal bliss. A learned Tal-
mudist at Buda, Jacob Ashkenazi of Wilna, whose
son and grandson became zealous persecutors of
the Sabbatians, was guided by the decision, and de-
clared a member of the community worthy of death,
because he would not say the blessing for Sabbatai
Zevi. In Moravia (at Nikolsburg) there were such
violent dissensions and tumults in consequence of

CH. IV. CHRISTIAN BELIEF IN SABBATAI. 15!

the craze about the Messiah, that the governor of
the province was obliged to post up notices to calm
men's minds. At Salee, in the north-western part
of Africa, the ruling Emir Gailan (Gailand) ordered
a persecution of the Jews, because they too openly
displayed the hope of their coming redemption.

Many Christians shared the delusive faith in the
new Messiah, and the weekly tidings from the East
concerning Sabbatai Zevi and his doings made an
overwhelming impression on them. At Hamburg,
for example, pious Protestants betook themselves to
the proselytizing preacher Esdras Edzard, and
asked him what was to be done :

"We have certain accounts, not only irom Jews, but also from our
Christian correspondents at Smyrna, Aleppo, Constantinople, and
other places in Turkey, that the new Messiah of the Jews does many
miracles, and the Jews of the whole world flock to him. What will
become of the Christian doctrine and the belief in our Messiah ?"

The attention bestowed by educated classes of
Christians upon the extraordinary events, which
were published as news of the day, in turn enhanced
the credulity of the Jews. In short, every circum-
stance tended to increase the deception. Only
Jacob Sasportas raised his warning voice against
the imposture. He sent letters in all directions,
here to point out the absurdity of current rumors,
there to collect exact information. He failed to
obtain striking evidence of Sabbatai's, or Nathan's,
roguery. Forged letters and documents were the
order of the day ; conscientiousness and uprightness
had utterly disappeared. Thus the mist of false be-
lief grew thicker and thicker, and one was no longer
able to get at the truth.

For three months, from April to July, Sabbatai
had been leading the life of a prince in the castle
of the Dardanelles, intent only upon his own apothe-
osis. Either from caprice or at Samuel Primo's sug-
gestion, he declared the fast of the i 7th Tammuz to
be abolished, because on this day he had realized his

152 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

Messianic character. Was this a mere freak, or was
it done with the intention of accustoming- his adher-
ents to the abolition of Rabbinical Judaism ? At all
events, he appointed the 23d of Tammuz (July 25th),
a Monday, to be kept as a strict Sabbath. More
than four thousand Jews, men and women, who hap-
pened to be at Abydos, celebrated this new Sabbath
with great scrupulousness. Sabbatai, or his secre-
tary, sent circulars to the communities directing
them to celebrate the next fast, the ninth of Ab, his
birthday, as a festival by a special service, with
Psalms specially chosen, with eating of choice meats,
and the sound of the harp and singing. He is said
to have contemplated the annulling of all the Jewish
festivals, even the Day of Atonement, and the intro-
duction of others in their stead. But before this
could be done, he was guilty in his pride of an act
of folly which caused the whole fabric to collapse.

Among the many thousand visitors from far and
near, two Poles from Lemberg made a pilgrimage
to him, to confirm their faith and feast on his count-
enance. One was Isaiah, son of a highly-esteemed
Rabbinical authority, the aged David Levi (Ture
Zahab), and grandson of the no less celebrated Joel
Serkes ; the other, his half-brother, Leb Herz.
From these two Poles Sabbatai heard that in the
distant land from which they came, another prophet,
Nehemiah Cohen, was announcing the approach of
the Messiah's kingdom, but not through Sabbatai.
He gave Isaiah Levi a laconic letter to take to his
father, in which he promised the Jews of Poland
revenge for the massacre by the Cossacks, and
peremptorily ordered Nehemiah to come to him
with all speed. He laid so much stress on Nehe-
miah's coming, that he made his followers eager for
his arrival. The two Poles traveled back delighted
to Lemberg, and everywhere told of the splendor
amid which they had seen the Messiah. Nehemiah
was ordered to hasten to Sabbatai, and he was not

CH. IV. NEHEMIAH COHEN. 153

deterred by the length of the journey. When he
arrived at Abydos at the beginning of September,
he was immediately admitted to an audience which
lasted several days. The Polish prophet and the
Smyrna Messiah did not laugh in one another's faces,
like two augurs, but carried on a grave discussion.
The subject of their mystical conversation remained
unknown, as may be imagined. It was said to con-
cern the forerunner of the Messiah — the Messiah of
Ephraim — whether or not he had appeared and
perished, as had been predicted. Nehemiah was
not convinced by the long argument, and did not
conceal the fact. On this account, the fanatical
Sabbatians are said to have secretly made signs to
one another to do away with this dangerous Pole.
He fortunately escaped from the castle, betook him-
self forthwith to Adrianople, to the Kaimakam Mus-
tapha, became a Mahometan, and betrayed the fan-
tastic and treasonable designs which Sabbatai Zevi
cherished, and which, he said, had remained unknown
to the government, only because the overseer of the
castle of Dardanelles had an interest in the con-
course of Jews.

The Kaimakam conveyed the intelligence to the
sultan, Mahomet IV, and the course to be pursued
with regard to Sabbatai was maturely considered,
the mufti Vanni being also admitted to aid the de-
liberations. To make short work with the rebellious
schemer appeared impracticable to the council, par-
ticularly as Mahometans also followed him. If he
should fall as a martyr, a new sect might arise, which
would kindle fresh disturbances. Vanni, a prosely-
tizing priest, proposed that an attempt be made to
bring Sabbatai over to Islam. This advice was
followed, and the sultan's physician (Hakim Bashi),
a Jewish renegade, by name Guidon, was employed
as the medium. A messenger suddenly appeared
at Abydos, drove away the Jews, who were besieg-
ing the Messiah with homage, conveyed him to

154 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

Adrianople, and brought him first to the Hakim
Bashi, who, as a former coreligionist, would be able
to convert him the more easily. The physician rep-
resented to him the dreadful punishment that would
inevitably befall him — he would be bound, and
scourged through the streets with burning torches,
if he did not appease the wrath of the sultan by
adopting Islamism. It is not known whether this
call to apostatize from Judaism cost the conceited
Messiah great mental conflict. He had not much
manly courage, and Judaism, in its existing form, was
perhaps dead for him. So he adopted Guidon's
advice. The following day (Elul 13, September 14,
1666) he was brought before the sultan. He imme-
diately cast off his Jewish head-dress, in sign of con-
tempt ; a page offered him a white Turkish turban
and a green instead of the black mantle which he
wore, and so his conversion to the Mahometan
religion was accomplished. When his dress was
changed, it is said that several pounds of biscuit
were found in his loose trousers. The sultan was
highly pleased at this termination of the movement,
gave him the name of Mehmed Effendi, and ap-
pointed him his door-keeper — Capigi Bashi Otorak
— with a considerable monthly salary ; he was to
remain near the sultan. The Messiah's wife, Sarah,
the Polish rabbi's fair daughter of loose behavior,
likewise became a Mahometan, under the name of
Fauma Kadin, and received rich presents from the
sultana. Some of Sabbata'i's followers also went
over to Islam. The mufti Vanni instructed them in
the Mahometan religion. Sabbatai' is said to have
married a Mahometan slave, in addition to his wife
Sarah, at the command of the mufti. Nehemiah
Cohen, who had brought about this sudden change,
did not remain in Turkey, but returned to Poland,
took off the turban, and lived quietly without breath-
ing a word of what had happened. He disappeared
as suddenly as he had come forward. The ex-Mes-

CH. IV. EFFECTS OF SABBATAI S APOSTASY. 155

siah impudently wrote, some days after his conver-
sion, to his brothers at Smyrna : " God has made
me an Ishmaelite ; He commanded, and it was done.
The ninth day of my regeneration." Nearly at the
same time the rabbis and presidents of schools at
Amsterdam assembled, and sent a letter of homage
to Sabbatai Zevi, to testify their belief in and
submission to him. The semi-Spinozist Dionysius
(Benjamin) Musaphia, vexed at not being invited,
wrote a separate letter to Sabbatai Zevi, signed by
himself and two members of the school (Elul 24th).
A week later, twenty-four distinguished men of
Amsterdam sent another letter of homage to the
apostate Messiah. At their head was Abraham
Gideon Abudiente. Did these letters reach the
Mahometan Mehmed Effendi? At Hamburg, where
likewise his conversion was not suspected, the bless-
ing was five times pronounced over the renegade
Sabbatai, on the Day of Atonement (October 9,
1666).

But when the rumor of his apostasy went the
rounds of the communities, and could no longer be
denied, confidence was succeeded by a bewildering
sense of disenchantment and shame. The hio-hest

*r>

representative of Judaism had abandoned and be-
trayed it! Chayim Benvenisti, the rabbi of Smyrna,
who had invested the false Messiah with authority
from motives far from honorable, almost died of
shame. Mahometans and Christians pointed with
scorn at the blind, credulous Jews. The street boys
in Turkey openly jeered at Jewish passers-by. But
this ridicule was not all. So widespread a com-
motion could not die out and leave no trace. The
sultan thought of destroying all the Jews in his
empire, because they had formed rebellious plans,
and of ordering all children under seven to be

<^

brought up in Islamism. The newly converted
Mahometan, Mehmed Effendi, in order to revenge
himself, is said to have betrayed his own plans, and

156 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

the consent of the Jews thereto. Two councilors
and the sultana-mother are reported to have dis-
suaded the sultan from his design by the observa-
tion that the Jews ought to be regarded as having
been misled. Fifty chief rabbis, however, because
they had neglected their duty in teaching the people,
were to be executed — twelve from Constantinople,
twelve from Smyrna, and the remaining twenty-six
from the other communities in Turkey. It was re-
garded as a special miracle that this resolution re-
mained a dead letter, and that the Jews did not even
have to pay a fine. The division in the communities
might have had even worse consequences, if the
unbelievers had heaped scorn and mockery upon
the late devotees. But the colleges of rabbis in
the East interposed, and sought to appease and
reconcile, arid threatened to excommunicate anyone
who, by word or deed, offended a former Sabbatian.
Although men's minds were calmed for the
moment, it was long before peace was restored.
After the first surprise at Sabbata'i's conversion was
over, his zealous followers, especially at Smyrna,
began to recover. They could not persuade them-
selves that they had really been running after a
shadow. There must be, or have been, some truth
in Sabbatai's Messianic claims, since all signs so
entirely agreed. The Kabbalists easily got over
objections. Sabbatai had not turned Mahometan ;
a phantom had played that part, while he himself
had retired to heaven or to the Ten Tribes, and
would soon appear again to accomplish the work of
redemption. As at the time of the origin of Chris-
tianity mystical believers (Docetae) interpreted the
crucifixion of Jesus as a phantasm, so now thorough-
going mystics explained Sabbatai's apostasy from
Judaism. Others, such as Samuel Primo, Jacob
Faliachi, Jacob Israel Duchan, who had designed,
through him, to brinof about the fall of Rabbinical fu-

^j <-j J

daism, and would not abandon their plan lightly, still

CH. IV. EXCOMMUNICATION OF SABBATIANS. 157

clung to him. The prophets, who had been mani-
festly proved false through his conversion, were
most interested in remaining true to him. They did
not care quietly to renounce their functions and
withdraw into obscurity, or be laughed at. The
prophets residing at Smyrna, Constantinople,
Rhodes, and Chios were silenced; but the itinerant
prophets, Nathan Ghazati and Sabbatai Raphael, did
not choose to abdicate. The former had remained
in Palestine during Sabbatai's triumph in order to
be paid homage on his own account. After the
deception was unmasked he regarded himself as no
longer safe ; he made preparations to go to Smyrna,
and continued to send out his mystical, bombastic
letters. From Damascus he warned the Jews of
Aleppo by letter not to allow themselves to be dis-
couraged by strange circumstances in their belief
in the Messiah ; there was a deep mystery shortly to
be revealed ; but wherein the mystery consisted
could not yet be disclosed. By these circulars the
credulous were confirmed afresh in their delusion.
In Smyrna many synagogues continued to insert the
blessing for Sabbatai in their prayers. Hence the
rabbis were obliged to interfere vigorously, especi-
ally the rabbinate of the Turkish capital. They laid
under a ban all who should even pronounce the
name of Sabbatai, or converse with his followers,
and threatened to hand them over to the secular
arm. Nathan Ghazati, in particular, was excom-
municated, and everyone warned against harboring
him or approaching him (Kislev 12, December 9,
1666). These sentences of excommunication were
so far effectual that Nathan could not stay anywhere
for any length of time, and even in Smyrna he could
remain only a short time in secret at the house of a
believer. But the rabbis were not able entirely to
exorcise the imposture. One of the most zealous
Sabbatians, probably Samuel Primo, who was ready
in invention, threw out a more effective suggestion

oo

158 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. OH. IV.

than that of the mock conversion. All had been
ordained as it had come to pass. Precisely by his
going over to Islam had Sabbatai proved himself
the Messiah. It was a Kabbalistic mystery which
some writings had announced beforehand. As the

^>

first redeemer Moses was obliged to reside for some
time at Pharaoh's court, not as an Israelite, but to
all appearance an Egyptian, even so must the last
redeemer live some time at a heathen court, appar-
ently a heathen, "outwardly sinful, but inwardly
pure." It was Sabbatai's task to free the lost
emanations of the soul, which pervade even Mahome-
tans, and by identifying them with himself, as it were,
bring them back to the fountain-head. By redeem-
ing souls in all circles, he was most effectually
furthering the kingdom of the Messiah. This sug-
gestion was a lucky hit ; it kindled anew the flame
of the imposture. It became a watchword for all
Sabbatians, enabling them, with decency and a show
of reason, to profess themselves believers, and hold
together.

Nathan Ghazati also caught up this idea, and was
encouraged to resume his part as prophet. He had
fared badly so far ; he had been obliged secretly to
leave Smyrna, where he had been in hiding several
months (end of April, 1667). His followers, con-
sisting of more than thirty men, were dispersed.
But by this new imposture he recovered courage,
and approached Adrianople, where Mehmed Effendi
presided, attended by several of his adherents, who
as pretended Mahometans lived and made fantastic
plans with him. The representatives of the Jewish
community at Constantinople and Adrianople
rightly feared fresh disturbances from the presence
of the false prophet, and desired to get rid of him.
Nathan Ghazati, however, relied on his prophecy,
which might possibly, he said, be fulfilled at the end
of the year. He expected the Holy Spirit to de-
scend upon the renegade Mehmed on the Feast of

CH. IV. NATHAN GHAZATI S ACTIVITY. 159

Weeks (Pentecost), and then he also would be able
to show signs and wonders. Until then, he defiantly
replied to the deputies, he could entertain no pro-
positions. When the Feast of Weeks was over,
the people of Adrianople again urged him to cease
from his juggleries. After much labor they obtained
only a written promise to keep at a distance of
twelve days' journey from the city, not to corres-
pond with Sabbatai, not to assemble people round
him, and if by the end of the year the Redeemer did
not appear, to consider his prophecies false. In
spite of his written promise, this lying prophet con-
tinued his agitation, and admonished the Sabbatians
in Adrianople to make known their continued ad-
hesion by the suspension of the fast on the i 7th of
Tammuz. In this city there was a Sabbatian con-
venticle under the leadership of a former disciple,
who stood in close connection with Mehmed Effendi.
The rabbinate of Adrianople did not know how to
check the mischievous course of this darinor sect,

O

and were obliged to have recourse to falsehood.
They announced that the renegade had suddenly
appeared before the Jewish communal council, had
repented of his imposture, and laid the blame on
Nathan and Abraham Yachini, who had made him
their dupe. In this way the rabbinate succeeded in
deceiving the Sabbatians. The effect did not last
long. Nathan on the one hand, and Mehmed
Effendi's circle on the other, awakened new hope,
the number of believers again increased, and they
made a special point of not fasting on the Qth of Ab,
the birthday of their Messiah. The rabbinates of
Constantinople and Smyrna sought to repress this
imposture by the old means — excommunication and
threats of punishment (end of July) — but with little
success. The Sabbatians had a sort of hankering
after martyrdom in order to seal their faith. The
false prophet renewed his propagandism. He still
had some followers, including two Mahometans.

I6O HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

At Salonica, the home of a swarm of Kabbalists, he
fared badly. The more easily did he find a hearing
in the communities of the islands of Chios and Corfu.
His hopes were however directed principally to
Italy.

Here also confusion continued to reign. The first
news of Sabbatai's defection had not been con-
firmed, as in consequence of the war in Crete the
ships of the Christians had been captured by the
Turks. Thus the Sabbatians were left free to main-
tain their faith and denounce the report as false, es-
pecially as encouraging letters arrived from Raphael
Joseph Chelebi of Cairo and others. The most ab-
surd stories of Sabbatai's power and dignity at the
Porte were published in Italy, and found credence.
Moses Pinheiro, Sabbatai's old companion, Raphael
Sofino at Leghorn, and the Amsterdam fanatics,
Isaac Naar and Abraham Pereira, who had gone to
Italy to search for the Messiah, had a special inter-
est in clinging to straws ; they feared ridicule as
dupes. The ignorant mountebank and strolling
prophet, Sabbatai Raphael, from the Morea, then
residing in Italy, was bent upon deception and fraud,
and appears to have reaped a good harvest there.
When at last there could be no doubt of Sabbatai's
change of religion, Raphael turned his steps to Ger-
many, where, on account of defective postal arrange-
ments and the slight intercourse of Jews with the
outer world- they had only a vague idea of the
course of events, and took the most foolish stories
for truth. Sabbatai Raphael was there regarded as
a prophet ; but, as he expected greater gain from
the rich Amsterdam community, he betook himself
thither (September, 1667). Here also the impost-
ure continued. Ashamed that they, the shrewd
and educated Portuguese, should have been so sig-
nally deceived, they at first placed no faith in the
news of Sabbatai's treachery. Even the rabbis
Isaac Aboab, Raphael Moses d'Aguilar, and the

CH. IV. NATHAN GHAZATI IN ITALY. l6l

philosophical sceptic Musaphia, remained staunch.
Justly Jacob Sasportas laughed them to scorn, es-
pecially Musaphia, on account of his present un-
shaken faith as contrasted with his former in-
credulity.

Meanwhile Nathan Ghazati, the prophet of Gaza,
was pursuing his mischievous course in Italy. Com-
ing from Greece, he landed at Venice (end of
March, 1668), but the rabbinate and the council, who
had had warning of him, would not allow him to en-
ter the Ghetto. A Sabbatian interceded for him
with some Christians of rank, and under such pro-
tection he could not be expelled. To cure those
who had shared in the delusion, the rabbinate wrung
from him a written confession, that his prophecies
of Sabbatai Zevi's Messiahship rested on a freak of
his imagination, that he recognized them as such,
and held them to be idle. This confession was
printed with an introduction by the rabbinate of
Venice, in order at last to open the eyes of the Sab-
batians in Italy. But it was not of much avail. The
delusion, resting as it did on the Kabbala, was too
deeply rooted. From Venice Ghazati was sent to
Leghorn, with the suggestion to render him innocu-
ous there, where Jews enjoyed more freedom ; but
Nathan Ghazati secretly escaped to Rome, cut off
his beard, disguised himself, and is said to have
thrown notes written in Chaldee into the Tiber, to
bring about the destruction of Rome. The Jews
recognized him, and, since they feared danger for
themselves on papal soil from his fraudulent absurd-
ities, they procured his banishment. Then he went
to Leghorn, and found followers there also. Prom-
ising himself more honor and profit in Turkey, or
more opportunity to satisfy his restless mind,
Nathan returned to Adrianople. He did not pay
great regard to word and oath. Nathan Ghazati
compiled much Kabbalistic nonsense, but acquired
no fame. He is said to have died at Sophia, and

762 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

to have been laid in a vault dug by himself (1680).
Other men appeared at the head of the Sabbatians
who far surpassed him, and pursued a definite end.
• Sabbatai, or Mehmed Effendi, at this time began
his revolutionary chimeras afresh. Immediately af-
ter his apostasy he was obliged, under the direction
of the mufti Vanni, to acquire Mahometan ways, and
guard carefully against any appearance of inclina-
tion to Judaism and the Jews. He therefore figured
as a pious Mahometan. Gradually he was permit-
ted greater freedom, and to give utterance to his
Kabbalistic views about God and the universe.
Vanni, to whom much was new, heard his expositions
with curiosity, and the sultan also is said to have
listened to his words attentively. Probably Sab-
batai won over some Mahometans to his Kabbalis-
tic dreams. Weary of quiet, and anxious to play
an active part again, he once more entered into close
relations with Jews, and gave out that he had been
filled anew with the Holy Spirit at Passover (end
of March, 1 668), and had received revelations. Sab-
bacai, or one of his aiders and abettors, published a
mystical work (" Five Evidences of the Faith," Saha-
duta di Mehemnuta) addressed to the Jews and
couched in extravagant language, in which the fol-
lowing fantastic views were set forth : Sabbatai had
been and remained the true Redeemer ; it would
be easy to prove himself such, if he had not compas-
sion on Israel, who would have to experience the
same dreadful sufferings as the Messiah ; and he
only persisted in Mahometanism in order to bring
thousands and tens of thousands of non-Jews over
to Israel. To the sultan and the mufti, on the other
hand, he said that his approximation to the Jews
was intended to bring them over to Islam. He re-
ceived permission to associate with Jews, and to
preach before them at Adrianople, even in syna-
gogues. Thus he played the part of Jew at one
time, of Mussulman at another. If Turkish spies

CH. IV. ABRAHAM MICHAEL CARDOSO. 163

were present, his Jewish hearers knew how to de-
ceive them. They threw away their Jewish head-
dress, and put on the turban. It is probable that
many Jews were seriously converted to Islam, and
a Jewish-Turkish sect thus began to form round
Sabbatai Zevi. The Jews who had hitherto felt such
horror of apostatizing, that only the outcasts
amongst them went over to Christianity or Islam,
became less severe. They said without indignation
that so and so had adopted the turban. Through
such jugglery Sabbatians at Adrianople, Smyrna,
Salonica, and other cities, even in Palestine, allowed
themselves to be confirmed in their obstinate faith
in the Messiah. Even pious men, learned in the
Talmud, continued to adhere to him.

As though this complication were to become more
involved, and the Kabbalistic-Messianic disorder
were to be pursued to its utmost limits, a Sabbatian
champion unexpectedly appeared in a man of Euro-
pean culture, not wanting in gifts, Abraham Michael
Cardoso. He was an original character, a living
personification of the transformation of the Portu-
guese Jews after their expulsion. Born of Marrano
parents in a small town of Portugal, Celarico, in the
province of Beira, Miguel Cardoso, like his elder
brother Fernando, studied medicine. While the
latter devoted himself earnestly to science, Miguel
dawdled away his days amidst the luxury of Madrid,
sang love-songs with the guitar under the balconies
of fair ladies, and paid very little heed to Kabbala
or Judaism. What influenced him to leave Spain
is not known. Perhaps his more serious and
thoughtful brother, who, after making a name in
Spain as a medical and scientific author, out of love
to Judaism migrated to Venice, where he plunged
deeply into Jewish literature, infected him with en-
thusiasm. Both brothers assumed Jewish names
after their return to the religion of their forefathers.
The elder, Isaac Cardoso, gave up his name Fer-

164 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IV.

nanclo ; the younger took the name of Abraham in
addition to that of Miguel (Michael). Both com-
posed verses in Spanish. While the elder brother
led a regular life, guided by moral principles and a
rational faith, the younger fell under the sway of ex-
travagant fancy and an eccentric manner of living.
Isaac Cardoso (born 1615, died after 1680) con-
ferred renown on Judaism, while Abraham Michael
Cardoso (born about 1630, died 1706) was a dis-
grace to it.

The latter lived as a physician at Leghorn, but
not flourishing he accepted the position of physician
in ordinary to the Bey of Tripoli. His warm-
blooded, dissolute nature was a hindrance to his
advancement. Contrary to the custom of African
Jews, he married two wives, and instead of employ-
ing himself with his difficult science, he revolved
fantastical schemes. Cardoso appears to have been
initiated into the Kabbala and the Sabbatian delus-
ion by Moses Pinheiro, who was living at Leghorn.

He continually had dreams and visions, which in-
creased in frequency after the public appearance of
Sabbatai at Smyrna and Constantinople. He com-
municated his delusion to his wives and domestics,
who likewise pretended to have seen all sorts of ap-
paritions. The apostasy of the false Messiah from
Judaism did not cure Cardoso of his delusion ; he
remained a zealous partisan, and even justified the
treachery of the Messiah by saying that it was nec-
essary for him to be counted among sinners, in or-
der that he might atone for Israel's sin of idolatry,
and blot it out. He sent circulars in all directions,
in order to support the Messianic claim of Sabbatai,
and figure as a prophet. In vain his more sober
brother, Isaac Cardoso, warned and ridiculed him,
asking him ironically, whether he had received the
gift of prophecy from his former gallantries and
from playing the guitar for the fair maidens of Mad-
rid. Abraham Cardoso's frivolity was in no way

CH. iv. CARDOSO'S PROPAGANDISM. 165

lessened, he even assumed a didactic tone towards
his grave elder brother, who despised the Kabbala
as he did alchemy and astrology, and sent him num-
berless proofs, from the Zohar and other Kabbalistic
writings, that Sabbatai was the true Messiah, and
that he must necessarily be estranged from Judaism.
By his zeal he gained many adherents for the Sab-
batian delusion in Africa; but he also made enemies,
and incurred dangers. He continued to prophesy
the speedy commencement of the Messiah's reign,
although often proved false by reality. He put off
the event from year to year, performed Kabbalistic
tricks, set up a new God for Israel, and at last de-
clared himself the Messiah of the house of Ephraim,
until he was rigorously prosecuted by an opponent
of these vagaries. Cardoso was driven back to his
former uncomfortable position, forced to lead an
adventurer's life, and win bread for himself and his
family, so to speak, by his delusions, going through
all sorts of jugglery, at Smyrna, at Constantinople,
in the Greek islands, and at Cairo, and promoting
the Sabbatian delusions with his abundant knowl-
edge, eloquent tongue, and ready pen. Thanks to
his education in Christian schools, he was far super-
ior to other Sabbatian apostles, and knew how to
give an air of rationality and wisdom to nonsense,
thus completely blinding the biased, and stultifying
even those averse to the Sabbatian movement.

Encouraged by the support of the Jews, continued
in spite of his change of religion, Sabbatai persisted
in keeping up his character as Messiah, and asso-
ciated more and more with Jews. His weak brain
had been turned by the overwhelming rush of events,
and he completely lost balance. At one time he re-
viled Judaism and the God of Israel with foul words
of abuse, and is said even to have informed against
Jews as blasphemers of Islam before Turkish mag-
istrates. At other times he held divine service ac-
cording to the Jewish ritual with his Jewish follow-

166 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. iv.

ers, sang" psalms, expounded the Zohar, ordered
selections from the Torah to be read on the Sabbath,
and frequently chose seven virgins for that purpose.
On account of his constant intercourse with Jews,
whom he was not able to bring over wholesale to
Mahometanism, as he may have boastfully asserted,
Mehmed Effendi is said to have fallen into disfavor,
forfeited his allowance and been banished from Ad-
rianople to Constantinople. He finally married
another wife, the daughter of a man learned in the
Talmud, Joseph Philosoph of Salonica. The Turk-
ish patrol having surprised him in a village (Kuru
Gisme) near Constantinople, while singing psalms
in a tent with some Jews, and the Bostanji Bashi
(officer) having reported it, the grand vizir com-
manded the Kaimakam to banish him to Dulcigno,
a small town in Albania, where no Jews dwelt.
There he died, abandoned and forsaken, it was
afterwards said, on the Day of Atonement, 1676.

Spinoza, who had likewise broken away from
Judaism, may well have looked with great contempt
on this Messianic craze of his contemporaries. If
he had cared to dig the grave of Judaism and bury
it, he would have been obliged to recognize Sab-
batai Zevi, his private secretary, Samuel Primo, and
his prophets, as allies and abettors. The irration-
ality of the Kabbala brought Judaism much more
effectually into discredit than reason and philosophy.
It is a remarkable fact that neither the one nor the
other could wean the numerous cultured Jews of
Amsterdam from the religion of their forefathers,
so strongly was it rooted in their hearts. At this
time when two forces of Jewish origin were antago-
nizing Judaism in the East and the West, the Portu-
guese community, increased to the number of four
thousand families, undertook (1671) the building of a
splendid synagogue, and after some years finished
the huge work, which had been interrupted by war
troubles. The dedication of the synagogue (Ab 10,

CH. IV. DEATH OF SPINOZA. 1 67

August 2, 1675), was celebrated with great solem-
nity and pomp. Neither the first Temple of Solomon,
nor the second of Zerubbabel, nor the third of
Herod, was so much lauded with song and eloquent
speech as the new one at Amsterdam, called Tal-
mud Torah. Copper-plate engravings, furnished
with inscriptions in verse, were published. Chris-
tians likewise took part in the dedication. They
advanced money to the Jews in the times of need,
and a poet, Romein de Hooghe, composed verses
in honor of the synagogue and the Jewish people in
Latin, Dutch, and French.

Spinoza lived to see this rejoicing of the com-
munity from which he had become a pervert. He
happened to be at Amsterdam just at the time.
He was engaged in seeing through the press a
treatise (Ethics) which reversed the views hitherto
prevailing, and the second, enlarged edition of his
other work, chiefly directed against Judaism. He
may have laughed at the joy of the Amsterdam Jews,
as idle ; but the building of this synagogue in a city
which a hundred years before had tolerated no Jews
and had supported a Spanish Inquisition, was loud
testimony of the times, and contradicted many of his
assertions. He died not long afterwards, or rather,
passed gently away as with a divine kiss (February
21, 1677), about five months after Sabbatai Zevi.
Against his will he has contributed to the glory of
the race which he so unjustly reviled. His power-
ful intellect, logical acumen, and strength of character
are more and more recognized as properties which
he owed to the race from which he was descended.
Among educated Jews, Isaac Orobio de Castro
alone attempted a serious refutation of Spinoza's
philosophical views. Though his intention was good,
he was too weak to break through the close meshes
of Spinoza's system. It was left to history to refute
it with facts.

CHAPTER V.

LIGHT AND SHADE.

Jews under Mahometan Rulers — Expulsion from Vienna — Jews ad-
mitted by Elector Frederick William into the Mark of Branden-
burg— Charge of Child-murder in Metz — Milder Treatment of
Jews throughout Europe — Christian Champions of the Jews :
Jurieu, Oliger Pauli, and Moses Germanus — Predilection of
Christians for the Study of Jewish Literature — Richard Simon
— Interest taken by Charles XI in the Karaites — Peringer and
Jacob Trigland — German Attacks on Judaism by Wiilfer,
Wagenseil, and Eisenmenger — Circumstances of the Publication
of Judaism Unmasked — The Alenu Prayer — Surenhuysius,
Basnage, Unger, Wolf, and Toland.

1669 — 1700 c. E.

THE princes and nations of Europe and Asia
showed great consideration in not disturbing the
Messianic farce of the Jews, who were quietly al-
lowed to make themselves ridiculous. A pause had
come in the constantly recurring persecution of the
Jews, which did not, however, last very long. The
regular succession of accusations, vexations, and
banishments soon re-commenced. The contrast
between the followers of Mahomet and those of
Jesus is very striking. In Turkey the Jews were
free from persecution, in spite of their great excite-
ment, and absurd dreams of a national Messiah. In
Africa, Sid Gailand and later Muley Arshid, sultan
of Tafilet, Fez, and Morocco, oppressed the Jews,
partly on account of their activity, partly from
rapacity. But this ceased with the next sovereign,
Muley Ismail. He was a patron of the Jews, and
entrusted several with important posts. He had
two Jewish advisers, Daniel Toledano of Miquenes,
a friend of Jacob Sasportas, a Talmudist and
experienced in state affairs, and Joseph Maimaran,
likewise from Miquenes.

i6S

CH. V. THE JEWS OF ORAN. 169

Within Christendom, on the contrary, Jews were
esteemed and treated as men only in Holland ; in
other states they were regarded as outcasts, who
had no rights, and no claim to compassion. Spain
again led the way in decreeing banishments. That
unfortunate country, becoming more and more de-
populated through despotism, superstition, and the
Inquisition, was then ruled by a foolish, fanatical
woman, the dowager-regent Maria Anna of Austria,
who had made her father-confessor, the German
Jesuit Neidhard, inquisitor-general and minister
with unlimited powers. Naturally, no toleration
of other religions could be suffered at this big-
oted court. There were still Jews in some parts
of the monarchy, in the north-western corner of
Africa, in Oran, Maxarquivir, and other cities. Many
had rendered considerable services to the Spanish
crown, in times of peace and war, against the native
Arabs, or Moors, who endured with inward rage the
dominion of the cross. The families of Cansino and
Sasportas, the former royal interpreters, or drago-
mans, for the province of Oran, had distinguished
themselves especially by their fidelity and devotion
to Spain ; and their conduct had been recognized by
Philip IV, the husband of Maria Anna, in a special
letter. Nevertheless, the queen-dowager suddenly
ordered the banishment of the Jews from the dis-
trict, because she could no longer tolerate people
of this race in her realm. At the urgent request of
Jewish grandees the governor allowed the Jews
eight days' grace during the Passover, and admit-
ted that they were banished, not because of mis-
conduct or treason, but simply on account of the re-
gent's intolerance (end of April, 1669). They were
obliged to sell their possessions in haste at ridicu-
lous prices. The exiles settled in the district of
Savoy, at Villafranca, near Nice.

Like mother, like daughter. At about this time
the banishment of Jews from Vienna and the arch-

I7O HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

duchy of Austria was decreed at the instigation of
the daughter of the Spanish regent, the empress
Margaret, an ally of the Jesuits. The emperor did
not easily allow himself to be prejudiced against
Jews, from whom he derived a certain revenue. The
community of Vienna alone, grown to nearly two
thousand souls, paid a yearly tax of 10,000, and the
country community of 4,000, florins. Including the
income from Jews in other places, the emperor re-
ceived from them 50,000 florins annually. But an em-
press need not trouble herself about finance; she can
follow the inclinations of her heart, and Margaret's
heart, filled with Jesuitism, hated Jews profoundly,
and her father-confessor strengthened the feeling.
Having met with an accident at a ball, she wished
to testify her gratitude to heaven which had wonder-
fully preserved her, and could find no means more
acceptable to God than the misery of Jews. More
urgently than before she entreated her imperial con-
sort to banish from the capital and the country the
Jews, described by her father-confessor as outcasts
of hell, and she received his promise. With trumpet-
sound it was made known in Vienna (February 14,
1670) that by the emperor's command the Jews were
to quit the city within a few months on pain of death.
They left no measure untried to avert the stroke.
Often before had similar resolutions been recalled
by Austrian emperors. The Jews cited the privi-
leges accorded them in writing, and the services
which they had rendered the imperial house. They
offered large sums of money (there were very rich
court Jews at Vienna), used the influence of persons
connected with the court, and, after a solemn service
in honor of the recovery of the emperor from sick-
ness, presented him as he left the church with a large
gold cup, and the empress with a handsome silver
basin and jug. The presents were accepted, but the
command was not recalled.

At Vienna and at the court there was no prospect

CH. V, BANISHMENT OF AUSTRIAN JEWS. I/ 1

of 'a. change of purpose ; the Jesuits had the upper
hand through the empress and her confessor. The
community of Vienna in despair thought to avert
the evil by another, roundabout course. The Jews
of Germany had felt sincere sympathy for their
brethren, and had implored heaven by prayer and
fasting to save them. The Jews of Vienna could
count confidently upon their zeal. Therefore, in a
pitiful letter to the most influential and perhaps the
richest Jew of that time, Isaac (Manoel) Texeira, the
esteemed agent of Queen Christina, they begged
him to exert his influence with temporal and church
princes, through them to make Empress Margaret
change her mind. Texeira had previously taken
active steps in that direction, and he promised to
continue them. He had written to some Spanish
grandees with whom he stood in close connection to
use their influence with the empress's confessor.
The queen of Sweden, who, after her romantic con-
version to Catholicism, enjoyed great esteem in the
Catholic world, led Texeira to hope that, by letters
addressed to the papal nuncio, to the empress, and
to her mother, the Spanish regent, she might pre-
vent the banishment of the Austrian Jews. The
Jews of Rome also did their part to save their
threatened brethren. But all these efforts led to
nothing. Unhappily there had just been a papal
election at Rome after the death of Clement IX, so
that the head of the church, though Jews were toler-
ated in his states, could not be prevailed upon to
assume a decided attitude. Emperor Leopold re-
mained firm, and disposed of the houses of the Jews
before they had left them. He was only humane
enough to order, under pain of severe punishment,
that no harm be done to the departing Jews.

So the Jews had to submit to the iron will of nec-
essity, and grasp their pilgrims' staffs. When 1,400
souls had fallen into distress, or at least into an
anxious plight, and many had succumbed, the re-

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

mainder, more than three hundred, again petitioned
the emperor, recounting the services of Jews to the
imperial house, and showing all the accusations
against them to be groundless, at all events not
proven. They did not shrink from declaring that
to be a Jew could not be called a crime, and pro-
tested that they ought to be treated as Roman cit-
izens, who ought not to be summarily expelled.
They begged at least for a respite until the next
meeting of the Reichstag. Even this petition, in
which they referred to the difficulty of finding a ref-
uge, if the emperor, the ruler of half of Europe,
rejected them, remained without effect. All had to
depart ; only one family, that of the court factor,
Marcus Schlesinger Jaffa, was allowed to remain in
Vienna, on account of services rendered. The
Jesuits were full of joy, and proclaimed the praise
of God in a gradual. The magistrates bought the
Jews' quarter from the emperor for 100,000 florins,
and called it Leopoldstadt in his honor. The site
of the synagogue was used for a church, of which
the emperor laid the corner-stone (August 18, 1670)
in honor of his patron saint. A golden tablet was
to perpetuate the shameful deeds of the Jews :

" After the Jews were banished, the emperor caused their syna-
gogue, which had been as a charnel-house, to be made into a house
of God."

The tablet, however, only proves the mental
weakness of the emperor and his people. The Tal-
mud school (Beth ha-Midrash) was likewise con-
verted into a church, and named in honor of the
empress and her patron saint.

But this dark picture had also its bright side. A
struggling state, which hitherto had not tolerated
the Jews, now became a new, though not very hos-
pitable, home, where the Jewish race was rejuvena-
ted. The Austrian exiles dispersed in various
directions. Many sought protection in Moravia,

CH. V. JEWS IN BRANDENBURG. 173

Bohemia, and Poland. Others went to Venice and as
far as the Turkish frontiers, others turned to Furth,
in Bavaria. Fifty families were received by Elector
Frederick William, in the Mark of Brandenburg.
This great prince, who laid the solid foundation for
the future greatness of the Prussian monarchy, was
not more tolerant than other princes of Louis XIV's
century ; but he was more clear-sighted than Em-
peror Leopold, and recognized that a sound state
of finances is essential to the prosperity of a state,
and that Jews retained somewhat of their old renown
as financiers. In the Mark of Brandenburg no Jew
had been allowed to dwell for a hundred years, since
their expulsion under Elector John George. Fred-
erick William himself took the step so difficult for
many; he wrote (April, 1670) to his ambassador,
Andrew Neumann, at Vienna, that he was inclined
to receive into the electoral Mark from forty to fifty
prosperous Jewish families of the exiles from Vienna
under certain conditions and limitations. The con-
ditions, made known a year later, proved in many
points very harsh, but were more favorable than in
other Protestant countries, as, for instance, in the
bigoted city of Hamburg. The Jews might settle
where they pleased in Brandenburg and in the duchy
of Crossen, and might trade everywhere without
hindrance. The burgomasters were directed to
place no impediment in the way of their settlement
and not to molest them. Every family had to pay
eight thalers a year as a protective tax, a gold florin
for every marriage, and the same for every funeral ;
on the other hand, they were freed from the poll-tax
throughout the country. They might buy and build
houses, on condition that after the expiration of a
term they sell them to Christians. They were not
permitted to have synagogues, but could have
prayer-rooms, and appoint a school-master and a
butcher (Shochet). This charter of protection was
valid for only twenty years, but a prospect was held

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

out that it would be prolonged by the elector or his
successor. Of these fifty Austrian families, some
seven settled in Berlin, and formed the foundation
of the community afterwards so large and influential.
One step led to another. Frederick William also
admitted rich Jews from Hamburg, Glogau, and
other cities, and thus communities sprang up at
Landsbenj and Frankfort-on-the-Oder.

«^

It is evident that Frederick William admitted the
Jews purely from financial considerations. But he
occasionally showed unselfish good-will towards
some. When he agreed to the quixotic plan of
Skytte, a Swedish royal councilor, to found, at Tan-
germiinde in the Mark, a university for all sciences
and an asylum for persecuted savants, he did not
fail, according to his programme, to admit into this
Athens of the Mark, Jewish men of learning, as well
as Arabs and unbelievers of every kind, but on con-
dition that they should keep their errors to them-
selves, and not spread them abroad.

At another spot in Christian Europe a few rays
of light pierced the darkness. About the same time
that the Jews were expelled from Vienna, a false ac-
cusation, which might have had far-reaching conse-
quences, cropped up against the Jews of a city re-
cently brought under French rule. In Metz, a con-
siderable community had developed in the course
of a century from four Jewish families, and had ap-
pointed its own rabbi since the beginning of the
seventeenth century. The Jews of Metz behaved
so well that King Louis XIV publicly declared his
satisfaction with them, and renewed their privileges.
But as Metz at that time still had a German popu-
lation, narrow guilds continued to exist, and these
insisted upon limiting the Jews in their occupations.
Thwarted by the magistrates, some of them roused
in the populace a burning hatred of the Jews. A
peasant had lost a child, and the news was quickly
spread that the Jews had killed it to practice sorcery

CH. V. FALSE ACCUSATIONS IN METZ. 1/5

with its flesh. The accusation was brought specifically
against a peddler, Raphael Levi. Scraps of paper
with Hebrew letters, written by him during his im-
prisonment, served as proofs of his guilt. A bap-
tized Jew, Paul du Vallie (Vallier, formerly Isaac),
son of a famous physician in that district, with the
aid of another Jewish convert, translated the scraps
to the disadvantage of the accused.

Du Vallie had literally been decoyed into Chris-
tianity, and changed into a bitter enemy of his
former co-religionists. He had been a good son,
adored by his parents. He had also been a pious
Jew, and had declared to two tempters who had
tried to influence him to apostatize from Judaism
that he would sooner be burned. Nevertheless, the
priests continued their efforts until they induced him
to accept Christianity. The news of his baptism
broke the heart of his mother, Antoinette. A touch-
ing letter to her son, in French, is still extant, in
which she entreats him to return to Judaism. Du
Vallie however refused, and proved himself besides
to be a bad man and a traitor. He brought false
evidence against the poor accused Jew. Accord-
ingly, Raphael Levi was stretched on the rack, and,
though he maintained his innocence in the tone of
convincing truth, he was condemned by the Metz
parliament, and put to death with torture, which he
resolutely bore (January, 1670). The parliament
intended to continue the persecution. The enemies
of the Jews, moreover, caused a document on the
subject to be printed and widely circulated, in order
to produce the proper effect. But the Metz com-
munity found a supporter in a zealous fellow-believer,
Jonah Salvador, a tobacco dealer, of Pignerol. He
was learned in the Talmud, and a follower of Sab-
batai Zevi. Richard Simon, an eager student,
sought him out in order to study Hebrew under his
guidance. Jonah Salvador managed to interest this
Father of the Oratory in the Metz community, and

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

inspired him to draw up a vindication of the Jews
respecting" child-murder. The tobacco merchant of
Pignerol delivered this document to persons at court
whose word had weight, and this turned the scale.
The king's council ordered the records of the Metz
parliament to be sent in, and decided (end of 1671)
that judicial murder had been committed in the case
of Raphael Levi. Louis XIV ordered that hence-
forth criminal charges against Jews be brought be-
fore the king's council.

Inhuman treatment of Jews, banishment, false ac-
cusations against them, and massacres did not actu-
ally cease, but their number and extent diminished.
This phenomenon was a consequence of the increas-
ing civilization of the European capitals, but a grow-
ing predilection for the Jews and their brilliant liter-
ature had a share in their improved treatment. Ed-
ucated Christians, Catholics as well as Protestants,
and sober, unbiased men, whose judgment had
weight, began to be astonished at the continued
existence of this people. How was it that a people,
persecuted for ten centuries and more, trampled
under foot, and treated like a pack of venomous or
noisome beasts — a people without a home, whom all
the world treated roughly — how was it that this
people still existed — not only existed, but formed a
compact body, separate from other peoples, even in
its subjection too proud to mingle with more power-
ful nations ? Numerous writers appeared as apol-
ogists for the Jews, urging their milder treatment,
and appealing earnestly to Christians not to destroy
or disfigure this living marvel. Many went very far
in their enthusiasm for the Jews. The Huguenot
preacher, Pierre Jurieu, at Rotterdam, wrote a book
(1685) on "The Fulfillment of Prophecy," in which
he expounded the future greatness of the Jews as
certain — that God had kept this nation for Himself
in order to do great wonders for it : the true Anti-
christ was the persecution of Jews. A Dane, Oliger

CH. V. OLIGER FAULT. 177

(Holger) Pauli, displayed over-zealous activity for
the return of the Jewish people to their former
country. As a youth, he had had visions of the
coming- greatness of Israel, in which he also was to
play a part. Oliger Pauli was so fond of the Jewish
race that, although descended from Christian an-
cestors of noble rank, he always gave out that he
had sprung from Jewish stock. He had amassed
millions as a merchant, and spent them lavishly on
his hobby, the return of the Jews to Palestine. He
sent mystical letters to King William III of England
and the dauphin of France to induce them to under-
take the assembling and restoration of the Jews. To
the dauphin the Danish enthusiast plainly declared
that by zeal for the Jews, France might atone for
her bloody massacre of St. Bartholomew and the
dragonnades. John Peter Speeth of Augsburg,
born of Catholic parents at Vienna, went still farther
in his enthusiasm for Jews and Judaism. After
writing a pamphlet in honor of Catholicism, he went
over to the Socinians and Mennonites, and at last
became a Jew at Amsterdam, and took the name of
Moses Germanus (died April 17, 1702). He con-
fessed that precisely the false accusations against
Jews had inspired him with disgust for Christianity.

" Even at the present time much of the same sort of thing happens
in Poland and Germany, where circumstantial tales are told and songs
sung in the streets, how the Jews have murdered a child, and sent the
blood to one another in quills for the use of their women in childbirth.
I have discovered this outrageous fraud in time, and abandoned Chris-
tianity, which can permit such things, in order to have no share in it,
nor be found with those who trample under foot Israel, the first begot-
ten Son of God, and shed his blood like water."

Moses Germanus was Paul reversed. The latter
as a Christian, became a zealous despiser of Juda-
ism ; the former, as a Jew, an equally fanatical op-
ponent of Christianity. He regarded its origin as
gross fraud. One cannot even now write all that
Moses Germanus uttered about the teaching of
Jesus. He was not the only Christian who at this

178 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

time "from love for Judaism" exposed himself to
the painful operation and still keener shame and
reproach of circumcision. In one year three Chris-
tians, in free Amsterdam to be sure, went over to
Judaism, amongst them a student from Prague.

Even more than the anticipated greatness of Is-
rael, Jewish literature attracted learned Christians,
and inspired them with a sort of sympathy for the
people out of whose mine such treasures came.
The Hebrew language was studied by Christians
even more than in the beginning of the seventeenth
century. In the middle and towards the close of
that century Hebrew Rabbinical literature was most
eagerly searched, translated into Latin or modern
languages, quoted, utilized, and applied. "Jewish
learning" was, not as before a mere ornament, but
an indispensable element, of learning. It was re-
garded as a disgrace for Catholic and Protestant
theologians to be ignorant of Rabbinical lore, and
the ignorant could defend themselves only by abus-
ing these Hebraists as semi-rabbis.

The first Catholic critic, Father Richard Simon,
of the congregation of the Oratory at Paris, con-
tributed very much to the high esteem in which the
Jews and their literature were held. This man, who
laid the foundation of a scientific, philological, and
exegetical study of the Old and New Testament, in-
vestigated Jewish writings with great zeal, and uti-
lized them for his purpose. He was gifted with a
keen understanding, which unconsciously led him
beyond the limits of Catholic doctrine. Spinoza's
criticism of the Bible induced him to make original
inquiries, and since, as a genuine Frenchman, he
was endowed with sound sense rather than meta-
physical imagination, he was more successful, and
his method is thoroughly scientific. Richard Simon
was disgusted with the biblical exegesis of the Prot-
estants, who were wont to support their wisdom and
their stupidity with verses of Holy Scripture. He

CH. V. RICHARD SIMON. 179

undertook, therefore, to prove that the biblical
knowledge and biblical exegesis of the Protestant
church, on which it prided itself before Catholics and
Jews, was mere mist and error, because it mistook
the sense of the original text, and had no conception
of the historical background, the coloring of time and
place, of the books of the Bible, and in this ignor-
ance multiplied absurd dogmas.

" You Protestants appeal to the pure word of God to do battle
against the Catholic tradition ; I intend to withdraw the ground from
under you, and to leave you, so to speak, with your legs dangling in
the air."

Richard Simon was the predecessor of Reimarus
and David Strauss. The Catholics applauded him
— even the mild Bishop Bossuet, who at first had
opposed him from conceit — not dreaming that they
were nourishing a serpent in their bosom. In his
master-piece, " The Critical History of The Old
Testament," he set himself to prove that the written
word in no way suffices for faith. Richard Simon
appreciated with a master's eye, as no one before
him, the wide extent of a new science — biblical crit-
icism. Although he criticised freely, he proceeded
apologetically, vindicated the sacred character of the
Bible, and repelled Spinoza's attacks upon its trust-
worthiness. Richard Simon's writings, which were
composed not in Latin, but in the vernacular, were
marked by a certain elegance of style, and attracted
well-deserved attention. They form an agreeable
contrast to the chaos of oppressive learning of the
time, and have an insinuative air about them.
Hence they were eagerly read by the educated
classes, even by women. Simon accorded much
space to Jewish literature, and subjoined a list of
Jewish writers. By this means Rabbinical literature
became known to the educated more than through
the efforts of Reuchlin, Scaliger, the two Buxtorfs,
and the learned men of Holland who wrote in Latin.

To gain a comprehensive knowledge of this litera-

ISO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

ture, Richard Simon was obliged, like Reuchlin
before him, to seek intercourse with Jews ; in parti-
cular he associated with Jonah Salvador, the Italian
Sabbatian. By this means he lost a part of his
prejudice against Jews, which still existed in France
in its intensity. He was drawn to Jews in another
direction. Laying stress on Catholic tradition as
opposed to the literal belief of the Protestants, he
felt in some degree related to the Talmudists
and Rabbanites. They also upheld their tradition
against the literal belief of the Karaites. Richard
Simon, therefore, exalted Rabbinical Judaism in the
introduction and supplements which he added to his
translation of Leon Modena's "Rites." Familiar
with the whole of Jewish literature as few of his
time or of a later period, Richard Simon refrained
from making the boastful assertion, grounded upon
ignorance, that Christianity is something peculiar,
fundamentally different to Judaism and far more
exalted. He recognized, and had the courage to
declare, the truth that Christianity in its substance
and form was molded after the pattern of Judaism,
and would have to become like it again.

" Since the Christian religion has its origin in Judaism, I doubt not
that the perusal of this little book (the 'Rites ' ) will contribute to the
understanding of the New Testament, on account of its similarity to,
and close connection with the Old. They who composed it were
Jews, and it can be explained only by means of Judaism. A portion
of our ceremonies also are derived from the Jews .... The Chris-
tian religion has this besides in common with the Jewish, that each is
based on Holy Scripture, on the tradition of the fathers, on traditional

habits and customs One cannot sufficiently admire the

modesty and devotion of the Jews, as they go to prayer in the morn-
ing The Jews distinguish themselves, not only by prayers, but

also by deeds of mercy, and one thinks one sees, in their sympathy
for the poor, the image of the love of the first Christians for their
brethren. Men obeyed in those times what the Jews have retained to
this day, while we (Christians) have scarcely kept up the remem-
brance of it."

Richard Simon almost deplored that the Jews,
formerly so learned in France, who looked upon
Paris as their Athens, had been driven out of that

CH. V. THE TALMUD DEFENDED. l8l

country. He defended them against the accusation
of their hatred of Christians, and emphasized the
fact that they pray for the welfare of the state and
its princes. His predilection for tradition went so
far, that he maintained that the college of cardinals
at Rome, the supreme court of Christendom, was
formed on the pattern of the Synhedrion at Jerusa-
lem, and that the pope corresponded to the presi-
dent, the Nassi. Whilst he compared the Catholics
to the Rabbanites, he called the Protestants Kara-
ites, and jestingly wrote to his Protestant friends,
" My dear Karaites." It has been mentioned that
Richard Simon interested himself zealously in the
Jews of Metz, when they were accused of murdering
a Christian child. When other opportunities offered,
he defended the Jews against false accusations and
suspicions. A baptized Jew, Christian Gerson, who
had become a Protestant pastor, at the beginning of
the seventeenth century, in order to vilify the
Talmud, had made extracts in the shape of ridiculous
legends, printed and published in many editions.
Richard Simon wrote to a Swiss, about to translate
these German extracts into French, that Gerson was
not guiltless of having passed off plays upon words
and purely allegorical expressions in the Talmud as
serious narratives. Gerson imputed to the whole
Jewish nation certain errors, accepted only by the
credulous, unable to distinguish fiction from fact, and
he, therefore, abused the Talmud. It must not be
forgotten that it was a distinguished ecclesiastic,
moreover, a sober, moderate man, who spoke thus
favorably of Judaism. His books and letters, writ-
ten in a lively French style, and much read by the
educated world, gained many friends for Judaism,
or at least lessened the number of its enemies. The
official Catholic world, however, appears to have
reprimanded this eulogist of Judaism, and Richard
Simon, who loved peace, was obliged partially to
recant his praises.

1 82 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

" I have said too much good of this wretched nation, and through
intercourse with some of them I have since learned to know them."

This cannot have been spoken from his heart, for
he was not wont to judge a whole class of men
by a few individuals.

The attention paid to Jews and their literature by
Christian scholars and princes here and there pro-
duced droll occurrences. In Sweden, the most big-
oted Protestant country, no Jew and no Catholic were
allowed to dwell. Nevertheless King Charles XI
felt extraordinary interest in the Jews, still more in
the Karaites, who pretended to follow the simple
word of God without the accretion of traditions, and
were said to bear great resemblance to the Protes-
tants. Would it not be easy to bring over to
Christianity these people who were not entangled in
the web of the Talmud ? Charles XI accordingly
sent a professor of Upsala, learned in Hebrew
literature, Gustavus Peringer of Lilienblad (about
1690), to Poland for the purpose of seeking out the
Karaites, informing himself of their manner of life
and their customs, and especially buying their writ-
ings without regard to cost. Provided with letters
of recommendation to the king of Poland, Peringer
went first to Lithuania, where dwelt several Karaite
communities. But the Polish and Lithuanian Kara-
ites were even more degraded than their brethren
in Constantinople, the Crimea, and Egypt. There
were very few among them who knew any details
about their origin and the history of their sect ; not
one had accurate information. At about this time
the Polish king, John Sobieski, had ordered, through
a Karaite judge, Abraham ben Samuel of Trok, who
was in favor with him, that the Karaites, for some
unknown object, scatter from their headquarters of
Trok, Luzk, and Halicz, and settle also in other
small towns ; they obeyed, and dispersed as far as
the northern province of Samogitia. These Polish
Karaites, cut off from their center, isolated, avoid-

CH. V. THE KARAITES. 183

ing intercourse with rabbis, and mixing only with the
Polish rustic population, became more and more
boorish, and sank into profound lethargy.

Whether Peringer even partially fulfilled the wish
of his king is not known ; probably he altogether
failed in his mission. Some years later ( 1 696- 1 697),
two learned Swedes, probably also commissioned
by Charles XI, traveled in Lithuania to visit Kara-
ite communities and buy up their writings. At the
same time they invited Karaites to visit Sweden,
and give information respecting their doctrines.
Zeal for conversion had certainly more share in the
matter than curiosity about the unknown. A young
Karaite, Samuel ben Aaron, who had settled at
Poswol in Samogitia, and understood some Latin,
resolved to make a journey to Riga, and hold a
conference with John Puffendorf, a royal official.
Through want of literary sources and the ignorance
of the Karaites concerning the origin and develop-
ment of their sect, Samuel ben Aaron could give
only a scanty account in a work, the title of which
proves that fancifulness had penetrated also to
Karaite circles.

From another side the Karaites were the object
of eager inquiry. A professor at Leyden, Jacob
Trigland, fairly well acquainted with Hebrew litera-
ture, who intended to write a book about the old
Jewish sects, no longer in existence, had his atten-
tion directed to the still existing Karaites. Inspired
by the wish to get information concerning the Polish
Karaites and obtain possession of their writings, he
sent a letter with various questions through well-
known mercantile houses to Karaites, to which he
solicited an answer. This letter accidentally fell
into the hands of a Karaite, Morclecai ben Nissan,
at Luzk, a poor official of the community, who did
not know enough to give the desired information as
to the beginning and cause of the schism between
Rabbanites and Karaites. He regarded it as a

184 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

point of honor to avail himself of this opportunity
to bring the forgotten Karaites to the remembrance
of the educated world through the instrumentality
of a Christian writer, and to deal blows at their
opponents, the Rabbanite Jews. He spared no
sacrifice to procure the few books by which he might
be able to instruct himself and his correspondent
Trigland. These materials, however, were not worth
much, and Mordecai's dissertation for Trigland
proved unsatisfactory, but for want of a better work
it had the good fortune to serve during nearly a
century and a half as the only source for the history
of Karaism. Some years later, when Charles XII,
the hero of the north, conquered Poland in his victor-
ious career, and like his father was anxious to have
more precise intelligence respecting Karaites, he
also made inquiries concerning them. Mordecai
ben Nissan used this occasion to compose a work in
Hebrew for Charles XII, in which he freely indulged
his hatred against Rabbanites, and strained every
nerve to make Talmudical literature ridiculous.

The zealous attention paid by Christian scholars
to Jewish literature could not fail to cause annoyance
and inconvenience to Jews. They felt sorely bur-
dened by German Protestant literati, who, acquiring
cumbersome learning, strove to rival the Dutch
writers and Richard Simon in France, without pos-
sessing their mild and gentle toleration towards
Jews, or their elegance of style. Almost at the same
time three German Hebraists, Wulfer, Wagenseil,
and Eisenmenger, used their knowledge of Hebrew
literature to bring accusations against the Jews. All
three associated much with Jews, learned from them,
and devoted much study to Jewish literature, mas-
tering it to a certain degree.

John Wulfer of Nuremberg, who was educated for
the church, and had studied with a Jew of Fiirth and
afterwards in Italy, thoroughly acquainting himself
with biblical and Talmudical literature, sought after

CH. V. THE "ALENU" PRAYER. 185

Hebrew manuscripts and old Jewish prayer-books
to found an accusation against the Jews. Christians,
instigated by baptized Jews, took offense at a beau-
tiful prayer (Alenu), which arose in a time and
country in which Christianity was little known.
Some Jews were wont to add a sentence to this
prayer : " For they (the heathen) pray unto vanity
and emptiness." In the word "emptiness," enemies
of the Jews pretended to see an allusion to Jesus
and to find blasphemy against him. The sentence
was not printed in the prayer-books, but in many
copies a blank space was left for it. This vacant
space, or the presence of the obnoxious word,
equally enraged the Protestants, and Wiilfer, there-
fore, searched libraries to find authority for it, and
when he found the word in manuscripts, he did not
fail to publish his discovery. He praised Prince
George of Hesse because he made his Jews swear
an oath never to utter a blasphemous word against
Jesus, and threatened to punish them with death in
case of transgression. Wiilfer, on the other hand,
was candid enough to confess that the Jews had
been long and cruelly persecuted by Christians, that
the accusation against them of using blood was a
mischievous invention, and that the testimony of
baptized Jews deserved little credence.

John Christopher Wagenseil, a lawyer and pro-
fessor at Altorf, was a good-hearted man, and kindly
disposed towards the Jews. He had traveled
farther than Wiilfer, had penetrated through Spain
into Africa, and took the greatest pains to hunt up
such Jewish writings as attacked Christianity from
the ground of Holy Scripture or with the weapons
of reason. His discoveries filled his quiver " with
the fiery darts of Satan." Wagenseil looked up
that insipid compilation of the magical miracles of
Jesus (Toldoth Jesho), with which a Jew, who had
been persecuted by Christians, tried to revenge
himself on the founder of Christianity, and he spent

1 86 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

much money in hunting up this Hebrew parody of
the Gospel. Few Jews possessed copies of it, and
the owners kept them under lock and key for their
own security. Because one Jew had once written
these absurdities about Jesus, and some Jews had
copies of the book in their possession, while others
had defended themselves against attacks by Chris-
tians, Wagenseil felt assured that the Jews of his
time were vile blasphemers of Jesus. He therefore
implored the princes and civil magistrates to forbid
the Jews most strictly to continue such blasphemy.
He directed a pamphlet, "The Christian Denuncia-
tion," to all high potentates, urging them to impose
a formal oath upon Jews, not to utter any word of
mockery against Jesus, Mary, the cross, the mass,
and other Christian sacraments. Wagenseil had
two pious wishes besides. One was that the Prot-
estant princes should take active steps for the con-
version of the Jews. He had, it is true, convinced
himself that at Rome, where since the time of Pope
Gregory XIII a Dominican monk was wont on cer-
tain Sabbaths to hold forth, in a sleepy manner, be-
fore a number of Jews, they either ignored him or
mocked at him. But he thought that the Protestant
princes, more zealous Christians than the Catholics,
ought to devise a better plan. It also grieved this
thorough scholar that the colleges of rabbis pre-
sumed to criticise writings concerning the Jewish
religion, and that they ventured to express their ap-
proval or disapproval ; this was an infringement of
the rights and the dignity of Christians ! Withal
Wagenseil, as has been said, was kindly disposed
to the Jews. He remarked with emphasis that he
thought it wrong and unworthy to burn Jews, to rob
them of all their property, or to drive them with their
wives and children out of the country. It was ex-
cessively cruel that in Germany and other countries
children of Jews should be baptized against the will
of their parents, and compelled to accept Christian-

CH. V. JOHN ANDREW EISENMENGER. 1 87

ity. The oppressions and insults to which they were
exposed at the hands of the Christian rabble were
by no means to be approved. It was not right that
they were compelled to say " Christ is risen," that
they were assailed with blows, had dirt and stones
thrown at them, and were not allowed to go about
in safety. Wagenseil wrote a pamphlet to expose
the horrible falsehood of the charge, that the Jews
use the blood of Christians. For the sake of this
pamphlet, which spoke so warmly for the Jews, his
other absurdities should be pardoned. Wagenseil
expressed his indignation at the horrible lie :

" It might pass if the matter stopped with idle gossip ; but that on
account of this execrable falsehood Jews have been tormented, pun-
ished, and executed by thousands, should have moved even stones to
compassion, and made them cry out."

Is it credible that in the face of this judgment,
spoken with firm conviction by Wiilfer and Wagen-
seil, who not only had associated with Jews for
years, but were accurately acquainted with Jewish
literature, and had penetrated into its innermost re-
cesses as none before them, their contemporaries
should seriously revive the horrible falsehood, and
justify it with ostentatious learning? A Protestant,
John Andrew Eisenmenger, professor of Oriental
languages, repeated the accusation, a thousand times
branded as false, and furnished posterity with abund-
ant material for charges against the Jews. Eisen-
menger belonged to the class of insects which sucks
poison even out of flowers. In confidential converse
with Jews, pretending that he desired to be con-
verted to Judaism, and in the profound study of
their literature, which he learned from them, he
sought only the dark side of both.

He compiled a venomous book in two volumes,
the title of which in itself was an invitation to Chris-
tians to massacre the Jews, and was synonymous
with a repetition of earlier scenes of horror for the
Jews.

1 88 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

"Judaism Unmasked ; or a Thorough and True Account of the
Way in which the Stubborn Jews frightfully blaspheme and dishonor
the Holy Trinity, revile the Holy Mother of Christ, mockingly criticise
the New Testament, the Evangelists, the Apostles, and the Christian
Religion, and despise and curse to the Uttermost Extreme the whole
of Christianity. Much else besides, either not at all or very little
known, and Gross Errors of the Jewish Religion and Theology, as
well as Ridiculous and Amusing Stories, herein appear. All proved
from their own Books. Written for the Honest Information of all
Christians."

Eisenmenger intended to hurl Wagenseil's "fiery
darts of Satan " with deadly aim at the Jews. If he
had merely quoted detached sentences from the
Talmudical and later Rabbinical literature and anti-
Christian writings, translated them, and drawn con-
clusions from them hostile to the Jews, he would
only have proved his mental weakness. But Eisen-
menger represented most horrible falsehoods, as
Wagenseil had called them, as indisputable facts.
He adduced a whole chapter of proofs showing that
it was not lawful for Jews to save a Christian from
danger to life, that the Rabbinical laws command
the slaughter of Christians, and that no confidence
should be placed in Jewish physicians, nor ought
their medicines to be taken. He repeated all the
false stories of murders committed by Jews against
Christians, of the poisoning of wells by Jews at the
time of the Black Death, of the poisoning of the
elector of Brandenburg, Joachim II, by his Jewish
mint-master, of Raphael Levi's child-murder at Metz
— in short, all ever invented by saintly simplicity,
priestly fraud, or excited fanaticism, and imputed to
Jews. That the martyrdom of little Simon of Trent
was a fabrication had been clearly proved by the
doge and senate of Venice on authentic documents.
Not only the Jewish writers Isaac Viva and Isaac
Cardoso, but also Christians, like Wiilfer and Wag-
enseil, recognized these documents as genuine, and
represented the charge against the Jews of Trent
as a crying injustice. Eisenmenger was not influ-
enced by that, declared the documents to be forged,

CH. V. "JUDAISM UNMASKED." 189

and maintained the bloodthirstiness of Jews with
fiery zeal and energy. One would be justified in
ascribing his proceedings against Jews to brutality
or avarice. Although very learned in Hebrew, he
was otherwise uncultured. He was willing to be
bribed by solid coin into silence with regard to the
Jews. But for the honor of humanity one would
rather impute his course to blindness ; he had lived
a long time at Frankfort-on-the-Main, formerly the
center of hatred to Jews in Germany, and he may
there have imbibed his bitter animosity, and have
wished, at first from conscientious motives, to blacken
the character of the Jews.

Some Jews had got wind of the printing of
Eisenmenger's workat Frankfort, and were nota little
alarmed at the danger threatening them. The old
prejudices of the masses and the ecclesiastics against
Jews, stronger amongst Protestants than Catholics,
still existed too strongly for a firebrand publication
to appear in German without doing mischief wher-
ever it came. The Jews of Frankfort therefore
placed themselves in communication with the court-
Jews at Vienna in order to meet the danger.
Emperor Leopold I, who, at the instigation of the
empress and her father-confessor, had expelled the
Jews from Vienna, being in need of money in con-
sequence of the Turkish wars, fifteen years later
allowed some rich Jews to settle in the capital.
Samuel Oppenheim, of Heidelberg, a banker, one of
the noblest of. Jews, whose heart and hand were
open to all sufferers, had probably brought about
this concession. As before, several Jewish families,
alleged to be his servants, came with him to Vienna.
Samuel Oppenheim zealously endeavored to pre-
vent the circulation of Eisenmenger's book against
the Jews. He had the same year experienced what
a Christian rabble instigated by hatred of Jews
could do. A riotous assault was made upon his
house, which was broken into, and everything

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

there, including- the money-chest, was plundered
(July 17, 1700). Hence from personal motives
and on public grounds Samuel Oppenheim exerted
himself to prevent the 2,000 copies of Eisen-
menger's work from seeing the light of day. He
and other Jews could justly maintain that the publi-
cation of this book in German, unattractive though
its style was, would lead to the massacre of the Jews.
An edict was therefore issued by the emperor for-
bidding its dissemination. Eisenmenger was doubly
disappointed ; he could not wreak his hatred on the
Jews, and he had lost the whole of his property,
which he had spent on the printing, and was obliged
to incur debts. All the copies, except a few which
he had abstracted, were in Frankfort under lock
and key. He entered into negotiations with Jews,
and proposed to destroy his work for 90,000 marks.
As the Jews offered scarcely half that sum, the con-
fiscation remained in force, and Eisenmenger, de-
ceived in all his hopes, died of vexation.

But the matter did not terminate there. Fre-
derick I, the newly-crowned king of Prussia, took a
lively interest in the book. The attention of this
prince was keenly directed to the Jews from various
causes. At the beginning of the eighteenth century
more than a thousand Jews dwelt in his domains.
The community of Berlin had grown in thirty years,
since their admission, from twelve to some seventy
families. Frederick I, who was fond of show and
pomp, had no particular partiality for Jews, but he
valued them for the income derived from them.
The court jeweler, Jost Liebmann, was highly
esteemed at court, because he supplied pearls and
trinkets on credit, and thus held an exceptionally
favorable position. It was said that Liebmann's
wife had taken the fancy of the prince ; she later
obtained the liberty of entering the king's apartment
unannounced. Through her the Jews received per-
mission to have a cemetery in Konigsberg ; but

CH. V. JEWS IN PRUSSIA. 19!

Jewish money was more highly prized by this king
than Jewish favorites- Frederick, who while elector
had thought of banishing the Jews, tolerated them
for the safety tax which they had to pay — 100 ducats
yearly — but they were subjected to severe restric-
tions, amongst others they could not own houses
and lands. Yet they were allowed to have syna-
gogues, first a private one granted as a favor to the
court jeweler Jost Liebmann and the family of
David Riess, an immigrant from Austria, and then,
owing to frequent disputes about rights and privil-
eges, a public synagogue as well.

Two maliciously disposed baptized Jews, Chris-
tian Kahtz and Francis Wenzel, sought to pre-
judice the new king and the population against the
Jews. " Blasphemy against Jesus " — so runs the
lying charge. The prayer "Alenu" and others were
cited as proofs that the Jews pronounced the name
of Jesus with contumely, and that they spat in doing
so. The guilds not being well disposed to the
Jews utilized this excitement for fanatical per-
secution, and such bitter feeling arose in the cities
and villages against the Jews, that (as they expressed
themselves, perhaps knowingly exaggerating) their
life was no longer safe. King Frederick proposed
a course which does honor to his good heart. He
issued a command (December, 1700) to all the pres-
idents of departments to call together the rabbis
and, in default of them, the Jewish school-masters
and elders on a certain day, and ask them on oath
whether, in uttering or silently using the blasphemous
word " va-rik," they applied it to Jesus. The Jews
everywhere solemnly declared on oath that they did
not refer to Jesus in this prayer at the place where
the lacuna was left in the prayer-books. John
Henry Michaelis, the theologian, of Halle, who was
asked respecting the character of the Jews, pro-
nounced them innocent of the blasphemy of which
they were accused. As the king continued to sus-

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

pect the Jews of reviling Jesus in thought, he issued
orders characteristic of the time (1703). He said
that it was his heart's wish to bring the people of
Israel, whom the Lord had once loved and chosen
as His peculiar possession, into the Christian com-
munion. He did not, however, presume to exercise
control over their consciences, but would leave the
conversion of the Jews to time and God's wise coun-
sel. Nor would he bind them by oath to refrain
from uttering in prayer the words in question. But he
commanded them on pain of punishment to refrain
from those words, to utter the prayer " Alenu " aloud,
and not to spit while so doing. Spies were ap-
pointed to visit the synagogues from time to time,
as eleven centuries before in the Byzantine empire,
in order to observe whether this concluding prayer
was pronounced aloud or in a whisper.

Eisenmenger before his death, and his heirs after
him, knowing that the king of Prussia was inclined
to listen to accusations against the Jews, had applied
to him to entreat Emperor Leopold to release the
book against the Jews, entitled " Judaism Unmasked,"
from ban and prohibition. Frederick I interested
himself warmly in the matter, and sent a kind of
petition to Emperor Leopold I (April 25, 1705)
very characteristic of the tone of that time. The
king represented that Eisenmenger had sunk all his
money in this book, and had died of vexation at the
imperial prohibition. It would seem a lowering of
Christianity if the Jews were so powerful as to be
able to suppress a book written in defense of Christi-
anity and in refutation of Jewish errors. There
was no reason to apprehend, as the Jews pretended,
that it would incite the people to a violent onslaught
against them, since similar writings had lately ap-
peared which had done them no harm. Eisen-
menger's book aimed chiefly at the promotion of
Christianity, so that Christians might not, as had
repeatedly happened some years ago. be induced to

CH. V. WILLIAM SURENHUYSIUS. 193

revolt from it and become adherents of Judaism.
But Emperor Leopold would not remove the ban
from Eisenmenger's book. King Frederick repeated
his request three years later, at the desire of Eisen-
menger's heirs, to Emperor Joseph I. With him
also King Frederick found no favorable hearing,
and the 2,000 copies of "Judaism Unmasked"
remained at Frankfort under ban for forty years.
But with Frederick's approval a second edition was
brought out at Konigsberg, where the imperial cen-
sorship had no power. For the moment it had no
such effect as the one side had hoped and the other
feared ; but, later on, when the rights of Jews as
men and citizens were considered, it proved an
armory for malicious or indolent opponents.

King Frederick I was often urged by enemies of
the Jews to make his royal authority a cloak for their
villainy. The bright and the dark side of the gen-
eral appreciation of Jewish literature appeared
clearly. In Holland, likewise a Protestant country,
a Christian scholar of this period cherished great
enthusiasm for the Mishna, the backbone of Talmud-
ical Judaism. William Surenhuysius, a young man
of Amsterdam, in the course of many years translated
the Mishna with two commentaries upon it into
Latin (printed 1 698- 1 703) . He displayed more than
the usual amount of Dutch industry and application.
Love certainly was needed to undertake such a
study, persevere in it, and finish the work in a clear
and attractive style. No language and literature
present so many difficulties as this dialect, now
almost obsolete, the objects which it describes, and
the form in which it is cast. Surenhuysius sat at
the feet of Jewish teachers, of whom there were
many at Amsterdam, and he was extremely grateful
for their help. But their assistance did not enable
him to dispense with industry and devotion. He
was influenced by the conviction that the oral Law,
the Mishna, in its main contents is as divine as the

194 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

written word of the Bible. He desired that Chris-
tian youths in training for theology and the clerical
profession should not yield to the seductions of
classical literature, but by engaging in the study of
the Mishna should, as it were, receive ordination
beforehand.

" He who desires to be a good and worthy disciple of Christ must
first become a Jew, or he must first learn thoroughly the language and
culture of the Jews, and become Moses's disciple before he joins
the Apostles, in order that he may be able through Moses and the
prophets to convince men that Jesus is the Messiah."

In this enthusiastic admiration for the corner-stone
of the edifice of Judaism, which the builders up of
culture were wont to despise, Surenhuysius included
the people who owned these laws. He cordially
thanked the senate of Amsterdam because it speci-
ally protected the Jews.

" In the measure in which this people once surpassed all other
peoples, you give it preference, worthy men ! The old renown and
dignity, which this people and the citizens of Jerusalem once pos-
sessed, are yours. For the Jews are sincerely devoted to you, not
overcome by force of arms, but won over by humanity and wisdom ;
they come to you, and are happy to obey your republican government."

Surenhuysius was outspoken in his displeasure
against those who having learned what served their
interest from the Scriptures of the Jews, reviled and
threw mud at them, " like highwaymen, who, having
robbed an honest man of all his clothes, beat him to
death, and send him away with scorn." He formed
a plan to make the whole of Rabbinical literature
accessible to the learned world through the Latin
language. While Surenhuysius of Amsterdam felt
such enthusiasm for this, not the most brilliant, side
of Judaism, and saw in it a means to promote
Christianity (in which view he did not stand alone),
a vile Polish Jew, named Aaron Margalita, an
apostate to Christianity for the sake of gain, brought
fresh accusations of blasphemy before King Fred-
erick of Prussia against an utterly harmless part of
Jewish literature — the old Agada. An edition of

CH. V. JACOB BASNAGE. 195

the Midrash Rabba (1705), published at Frankfort-
on-the-Oder, was accordingly put under a ban by
the king's command, until Christian theologians
should pronounce judgment upon it.

The best result of this taste for Jewish literature
on the part of learned Christians, and of the literary
works promoted thereby was an interesting histori-
cal work concerning Jews and Judaism, which may
be said to have terminated the old, and foreshadowed
a new epoch. Jacob Basnage (born 1653, died
1723), of noble character, a Protestant theologian, a
solid historian, a pleasant author, and a person held
in high esteem generally, rendered incalculable ser-
vice to Judaism. He sifted the results of the labori-
ous researches of scholars, popularized them, and
made them accessible to all educated circles. In
his assiduous historical inquiries, especially as to the
development of the Church, Basnage met Jews at
almost every step. He had a suspicion that the
Jewish people had not, as ordinary theologians
thought, become utterly bankrupt through the loss
of its political independence and the spread of Chris-
tianity, a doomed victim, the ghost of its former self.
The great sufferings of this people and its rich lit-
erature inspired him with awe. His sense of truth
with regard to historical events would not allow him
to dismiss facts or explain them away with empty
phrases. Basnage undertook to compile the history
of the Jews or the Jewish religion, so far as it was
known to him, from Jesus down to his own times.
He labored on this work for more than five years.
It was intended to continue the history of the Jewish
historian Flavins Josephus after the dispersion of
the Jewish people. Basnage strove, as far as was
possible for a staunch Protestant at that time, to
present and judge events in an impartial manner.

" Christians may not be surprised that we often acquit the Jews of
crimes of which they are not guilty, since justice so requires. No par-
tiality is implied in accusing those of injustice and oppression who

196 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

have been guilty of them. We have no intention to injure the Jews
any more than to flatter them. ... In the decay and dregs of cen-
turies men have adopted a spirit of cruelty and barbarism towards the
Jews. They were accused ot being the cause of all the disasters which
happened, and charged with a multitude of crimes of which they
never even dreamed. Numberless miracles were invented to convict
them, or rather the better to satisfy hatred under the shade of religion.
We have made a collection of laws, which councils and princes pub-
lished against them, by means of which people can judge of the malice
of the former and the oppression of the latter. Men did not, however,
confine themselves to the edicts, but everywhere military executions,
popular riots, and massacres took place. Yet, by a miracle of Provi-
dence, which must excite the astonishment of all Christians, this hated
nation, persecuted in all places for a great number of centuries, still
exists everywhere. . . . Peoples and kings, heathens, Christians, and
Mahometans, opposed to one another in so many points, have agreed
in the purpose of destroying this nation, and have not succeeded.
The bush of Moses, surrounded by flames, has ever burned without
being consumed. The Jews have been driven out of all the cities of
the world, and this has only served to spread them abroad in all cities.
They still live in spite of the contempt and hatred which follow them
everywhere, while the greatest monarchies have fallen, and are known
to us only by name."

Basnage, who by the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes through the Catholic intolerance of Louis
XIV was banished to Holland, could to some degree,
appreciate the feelings of the Jews during their long
exile. He had acquired sufficient knowledge of
Jewish literature to consult the authorities in the
execution of his work. The historical works of
Abraham ibn Daud, Ibn Yachya, Ibn Verga, David
Gans, and others were not neglected ; they served
Basnage as building material wherewith to rear the
great fabric of Jewish history of the sixteen centuries
since the origin of Christianity.

But Basnage was not sufficiently an artist to un-
roll before the eye in glowing colors, even if in im-
ages fleeting as the mist, the sublime or tragic scenes
of Jewish history. Nor had he the talent to mass
together or marshal in groups and detachments facts
widely scattered in consequence of the peculiar
course of this people's history. One can feel in
Basnage's presentation that he was oppressed and
overpowered by the superabundance of details. He
jumbled together times and occurrences in motley

CH. V. A HISTORY BY BASNAGE. 197

confusion, divided the history into two unnatural
halves, the East and the West, and described in con-
junction events without connection. Of the deep
inner springs of the life and deeds of the nation he
had no comprehension. His Protestant creed hind-
ered him ; he saw Jewish history only through the
thick mist of Church history. Despite his efforts to
be impartial and honest, he could not rid himself of
the belief that the "Jews are rejected because they
have rejected Jesus." In short, Basnage's " History
of the Religion of the Jews" has a thousand faults.
Hardly a single sentence can be regarded as per-
fectly just and in accordance with the truth.

Yet the appearance of this work was of great im-
portance to the Jews. It circulated in the educated
world a mass of historical information, crude and
distorted though it was, because it was written in
the fashionable French language, and this seed shot
up everywhere luxuriantly. A people, which, despite
bloody persecutions, without a home, with no spot
on the whole earth where it could lay its head or
place its foot, yet possessed a history not wholly de-
void of splendor — such a people was not like a gipsy
horde, but must find ever-increasing consideration.
Without his knowledge or intention, even whilst
casting many an aspersion upon the Jewish race,
Basnage paved the way to raising it from its abject
condition. Christian Theophilus Unger, a pastor in
Silesia, and John Christopher Wolf, professor of
Oriental languages in Hamburg, who were busily
and earnestly engaged in the study of Jewish litera-
ture and history, became Basnage's disciples, and
without his work could not have effected so much as
they did in this field. Both, especially Wolf, filled
many gaps which Basnage had left, and evinced a
certain degree of warmth for the cause.

The admiration, or at least sympathy, felt for the
Jews at this time, induced John Toland (an Irish-
man, the courageous opponent of fossilized Chris-

198 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. V.

tianity) to raise his voice on behalf of their equality
with Christians in England and Ireland. This was

0

the first word spoken in favor of their emancipation.
But the people, in whose favor this remarkable re-
vulsion of sentiment had taken place in the educated
wo rid, was without knowledge of it, and felt no change
in popular sentiment.

CHAPTER VI.

GENERAL DEMORALIZATION OF JUDAISM.

Low Condition of the Jews at the End of the Seventeenth Century —
Representatives of Culture : David Nieto, Jehuda Brieli — The
Kabbala — Jewish Chroniclers — Lopez Laguna translates the
Psalms into Spanish — De Barrios — The Race after Wealth-
General Poverty of the Jews — Revival of Sabbatianism — Daniel
Israel Bonafoux, Cardoso, Mordecai of Eisenstadt, Jacob Ouerido,
and Berachya — Sabbatianism in Poland — Abraham Cuenqui —
Judah Chassid — Chayim Malach — Solomon Ayllon — Nehemiah
Chayon — David Oppenheim's Famous Library — Chacham Zevi
— The Controversy on Chayon's Heretical Works in Amsterdam.

1700 — 1725 c. E.

AT the time when the eyes of the civilized world
were directed upon the Jewish race with a certain
degree of sympathy and admiration, and when, at
the dawn of enlightenment in the so-called philo-
sophical century, ecclesiastical prejudices were be-
ginning to disappear, the members of this race were
making a by no means favorable impression upon
those with whom they came into contact. Weighed
in the balance, they were found wanting even by
their well-wishers. The Jews were at no time in so
pitiful a plight as at the end of the seventeenth and
beginning of the eighteenth century. Several cir-
cumstances had contributed to render them utterly
demoralized and despised. The former teachers
of Europe, through the sad course of centuries, had
become childish, or worse, dotards. Every public
or historical act of the Jews bears this character of
imbecility, if not contemptibility. There was not a
single cheering event, hardly a person commanding
respect who could worthily represent Judaism, and
bring it into estimation. The strong-minded, manly
Orobio de Castro (died in 1687), the former victim

199

2OO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

of the Inquisition, whose fidelity to conviction, whose
dignity, and the acumen with which he contested
Christianity commanded the respect of the leading
opponents of Judaism, was indeed still living. But
he left no successor of equal standing within the
highly cultured community of Amsterdam, certainly
not outside of it, where the conditions for an inde-
pendent Jewish personality possessed of culture
were entirely wanting. The leaders of the com-
munity were for the most part led astray, wandering
as in a dream, and stumbling at every step. But
few rabbis occupied themselves with any branch of
knowledge beyond the Talmud, or entered on a new
path in this study. The exceptions can be counted.
Rabbi David Nieto, of London (born 1654, died
1728), was a man of culture. He was a physician,
understood mathematics, was sufficiently able to de-
fend Judaism against calumnies, and, besides many
platitudes, wrote much that was reasonable. The
Italian rabbi, Jehuda Leon Brieli, of Mantua (born
about 1643, died 1722), was also an important per-
sonage— a man of sound views, of solid, even philo-
sophical knowledge, whose style in the vernacular
was elegant, and who knew how to defend Judaism
against Christian aggressiveness. Brieli had the
courage to disregard two customs, which was ac-
counted worse than criminal by his contemporaries :
he remained unmarried all his life, and though a
rabbi, did not wear a beard. But Brieli's influence
on his Jewish contemporaries was very slight. He
knew the weaknesses of Christianity, but had not
the same sharp vision for the faults of Judaism and
the Jews. Of the mischievous nature of the Zohar
and the Kabbala generally, however, Brieli was
thoroughly aware ; he wished that they had not seen
the light of day ; but his critical knowledge extended
no further.

For the rest, the rabbis of this period were not
models, the Poles and Germans being for the most

CH. VI. SUPERSTITIOUS USAGES. 2OI

part pitiable figures, their heads filled with unprofit-
able knowledge, otherwise ignorant and helpless as
little children. The Portuguese rabbis presented a
dignified, imposing appearance, but they were
shallow. The Italians bore more resemblance to
the Germans, but had not their learning. Thus,
with no guides acquainted with the road, sunk in igno-
rance, or filled with conceit, beset with phantoms,
the Jews in all parts of the world without exception
were passing from one absurdity to another, and
allowing themselves to be imposed upon by jugglers
and visionaries. Any absurdity, however trans-
parent, provided it was apparently vindicated with
religious earnestness, and interlarded with strained
verses of Scripture, or sayings from the Talmud
artificially explained, or garnished with scraps of
the Kabbala, was persistently believed and pro-
pagated. " The minds of men, estranged from life
and true knowledge, exhausted their powers in
subtleties and the superstitious errors of the Kab-
bala. Teachers spoke seldom or only in the words
of the Talmud to their scholars ; no attention was
paid to delivery, for there was no language and no
eloquence." The culminating point of the Middle
Ages was reached in Jewish history at a time when
it had been passed by the most of Western Europe.
The spread of superstitious usages with a coating
of religion was in no wise checked. To write
amulets (Kamea) for the exorcism of diseases was
required of the rabbis, and they devoted themselves
to this work ; many wished to be thought conjurors
of spirits. A rabbi, Simon Baki at Casale in Italy,
complained to his master, the foolish Kabbalist
Moses Zacut at Venice, that he had used the pre-
scribed formulas of conjuration for a woman at Turin
supposed to be possessed, without any successful
result. Thereupon the latter gave him more effi-
cacious means, viz., whilst using God's name in
prayer, he was to hold burning sulphur to the nose

2O2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

of the possessed. The more sensitive she was, and
the more she struggled against the remedy, the
more might he be convinced that she was possessed
by an evil spirit. An instructed Jew of the Kab
balist school of Damascus once boasted seriously
before the free-thinking critic Richard Simon, that
he could evoke a genius of a high order, and began
to make preparations. The incredulous Father
followed his movements with a satirical smile, and
the conjuror got out of the predicament with the
remark that the soil of France was not suited for
apparitions.

To elevate Judaism in the eyes of the nations and
to represent it in a manner worthy of respect was
at this time not in the power of the Jews. They
rather degraded and made it contemptible. Thought-
ful Christians stood astonished before this wonderful
monument of history, this people with its learning
and its alternately glorious and tragic destiny ; but
its own sons were too dull to feel their own great-
ness, or sought it only in silly stories and absurd
actions. Whilst Christians industriously and with
feelings of amazement investigated the history of
the Jews during three thousand years, the Jews had
no such feelinpf, not even the cultivated Portuguese

O * o

Jews. Manasseh ben Israel had outlined a history
of the Jews, and probably suggested Basnage's
work, but he did not accomplish his own design.
Three historians, indeed, are named as belonging
to this time — the itinerant rabbi David Conforte,
secondly, Miguel (Daniel) de Barrios, a Marrano,
born in Portugal, who returned to Judaism at
Amsterdam, and lastly the Polish rabbi Jechiel
Heilperin, of Minsk. But all three resemble the
monkish chroniclers of the barbarous ages, and their
style is more repulsive than attractive.

If literature is the true photograph of the thoughts
and aspirations of an age, then the century between
Spinoza and Mendelssohn, judged by its literary

CH. VI. LOPEZ LACUNA. 203

productions, must have had very ugly features. A
good deal, it is true, was written and published ;
every rabbi by a fresh contribution to the already
stupendous pile of Rabbinical matter essayed to
perpetuate his name, to secure his future bliss, and
withal to earn a pittance. Subtle Rabbinical com-
mentaries, insipid sermons, and books of devotion,
acrimonious controversial writings were the emana-
tions of the Jewish mind or lack of mind at this time.
The flower of poetry found no soil in this quagmire.
This age produced only two Jewish poets, genuine
sons of the Jewish muse, who lived at a great dis-
tance from each other, one in the island of Jamaica,
the other in Italy — Lopez Laguna and Luzzatto —
as if the old Jewish trunk, crownless and leafless,
wished to reveal the life at its heart and prove its
capability to renew its youth even under the most
unfavorable circumstances. Lopez Laguna, born a
Marrano in France (about 1660, died after 1720),
came when but a youth to Spain, where he made the
acquaintance of the horrible Inquisition. In his
night of suffering, the Psalms, full of tender feeling,
brought light and hope to him as to so many of his
companions in sorrow. Released from prison, and
having escaped to Jamaica, Laguna, under the Jew-
ish name of Daniel Israel, attuned his harp to the
holy songs which had revived his soul. To make
the Psalms accessible to others, especially to Mar-
ranos ignorant of Hebrew, he made a faithful trans-

C>

lation of them into melodious, elegant Spanish verse.
This psalter, "a mirror of life," Daniel Israel Lopez
Laguna took to London, where his work procured
him a triumphant reception from several minor
poets and also from three Jewish poetesses, Sarah
de Fonseca Pinto y Pimentel, Manuela Nunez da
Almeida, and Bienvenida Coen Belmonte, who
addressed him in Latin, English, Portuguese, and
Spanish verses.

Moses Chayim Luzzatto, a victim to the dreary

2O4 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

errors of this time, composed two Hebrew dramas
full of beauty and youthful freshness. With the ex-
ception of these poetical flowers this long period
shows a colorless waste. Daniel de Barrios, cap-
tain, historian, and beggar, cannot be reckoned a
poet, although he composed an astonishing number
of Spanish, as well as Hebrew rhymes, besides several
Spanish dramas, and he sang before, and without
shame begged of, nearly every Jewish and Christian
magnate who possessed a full purse.

Not only the scientific and artistic spirit, but also
the moral sense was lost, or at least blunted in this
general demoralization. The fundamental virtues
of the Jewish race continued to exist even at this
time in undiminished strength — idyllic family love,
brotherly sympathy towards one another, and chas-
tity. Gross vices and crimes occurred even then
but seldom in the tents of Jacob. Thoroughly cor-
rupt outcasts were considerate enough to leave it,
and to pollute the church or the mosque with their
immorality. But the feeling of right and honor
amongst Jews was on the whole weakened. There
was a lowering in tone of that tender conscience,
which with a sort of maiden shame avoids even what
the precepts of religion and the paragraphs of the
civil code leave unforbidden. To make money was
so imperious a necessity that ways and means
became indifferent, and were not exposed to censure.
To take undue advantage, and to overreach, not
merely a hostile population, but even their own co-
religionists, was regarded for the most part not as
a disgrace, but rather as a kind of heroic action.
From this sprang worship of Mammon, not merely
love, but also respect for gold, no matter how impure
its source. The democratic equality hitherto main-
tained amongst Jews, who refused to recognize dis-
tinctions of class and caste, was lost in the furious
dance round the golden calf. The rich man was

^j

held worthy of honor — one to whom those less

CH. VI. JEWISH MILLIONAIRES. 2O5

kindly favored by fortune looked up as to something
higher, and in whom they therefore overlooked
many failings. The richest, not the most worthy,
were made the managers of the community, and
were granted a charter for arbitrary conduct
and arrogance. A satire of the period scourges
very severely the almighty power of money, to which
all bowed down. " The dollar binds and looses,
it raises the ignorant to the chief offices in the
community."

Increasing poverty among Jews was partly the
cause of this state of affairs. Only among the small
number of Portuguese Jews at Amsterdan, Ham-
burg, Leghorn, Florence, and London, there were
men of considerable wealth. Isaac (Antonio)
Suasso, created Baron Alvernes de Gras by Charles
II, of Spain, was able to advance to William III, for
his semi-adventurous expedition to London to ob-
tain the English crown, two million florins without
interest, with the simple words, " If you are for-
tunate, you will repay them to me ; if not, I am wil-
ling to lose them." The millionaires at Amsterdam
were the Pintos, the Belmontes, David Bueno de
Mesquito, Francisco Melo, who rendered many
services to Holland by his wealth. One of the De
Pintos bequeathed several millions for noble objects,
making provision for Jewish communities, the state,
Christian orphanages, clergy, clerks, and sextons.
At Hamburg there were the Texeiras, who were re-
lated by marriage to Suasso, and Daniel Abensur,
able to make large advances to the poor rulers of
Poland. On the other hand, the Polish, German,
and also the Italian and the Oriental Jews, were ex-
tremely impoverished. The changes which com-
merce had experienced brought about this alteration.
The Jews could no longer practice usury, they had
no capital, or rather Christian capitalists competed
with them. Poorest of all were the Polish Jews,—
they who used to lord it over all the Jews in Europe.

2O6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

They could not recover from the wounds which the
Cossack disturbances had inflicted on them, and the
disruption of the Polish kingdom that followed
caused them fresh troubles. The increasing poverty
of the Polish Jews every year drove swarms of beg-
gars to the west and south of Europe. They re-
sorted to the large communities to procure shelter
and food from their rich brethren. Polish students
of the Talmud, superior to all other Jews in knowl-
edge of the Talmud, went principally to the import-
ant rabbinates, Prague, Nikolsburg, Frankfort-on-
the-Main, Amsterdam, and Hamburg, and even to
Italian communities. Every Polish emigrant was,
or proclaimed himself to be, a rabbi or preacher, and
was so regarded. Many of them were a disgrace to
the rabbinical office, for which they had no qualifica-
tions, either mental or moral. They fawned on the
rich from need and habit. From them sprang the
ever-increasing demoralization among Jews. To
their care, or rather to their neglect, were entrusted
the Jewish youth, who, as soon as they could talk,
were introduced to the Talmud, after the sophistical,
artificial method. Through this perversity the lan-
guage of the German Jews, like that of the Poles,
degenerated into a repulsive stammer, and their
manner of thinking and love of disputation into
crabbed dogmatism that defied all logic. Their feel-
ing for simplicity and truth was lost, and even the
Portuguese Jews, who kept themselves aloof from
the odious jargon, did not remain uncontaminated
by the perverse manner of thinking prevalent at the
time.

Added to this was the fact that the mud-streams
of Sabbatian fanaticism burst forth afresh. They
besmirched all who came in contact with them, but,
nevertheless, they were regarded as a pure stream
from the fountain-head of the Deity. Their one
good effect was that they stirred up, and set in mo-
tion the stagnant swamp ; or, to speak without met-

CH. VI. MICHAEL CARDOSO. 2O/

aphor, the sluggish routine in which the Jews lived
was broken, and the rabbis, dull with unfruitful learn-
ing, were roused to a certain degree of passion and
energy. After Sabbatai's death one of his follow-
ers, Daniel Israel Bonafoux, an ignorant officiating
reader (Chazan) at Smyrna, kept up the faith in the
dead Messiah by all sorts of jugglery. At one time
he pretended to have seen a moving fire-ball ; at
another, to have heard a voice say that Sabbatai
was still alive, and would reign forever. The com-
munity at Smyrna bribed the Kadi to banish him
from the city, but Daniel Israel took up his residence
in the neighborhood of Smyrna, and encouraged the
sect to persevere in its belief. He was aided and
abetted by Abraham Michael Cardoso of Tripoli,
who reappeared on this stage, where he found a con-
venticle of Sabbatian associates, who flocked round
him, because with his scientific education, his culture,
and fluency of speech, he was far superior to them.
Cardoso announced dreams and visions, declared
himself Sabbatai Zevi's successor, the Ephraimite
Messiah, practiced extraordinary impositions, and
visited graves to be inspired by departed spirits, and
obtain predictions to suit his theory. This consisted
in the blasphemous assumption that there are two
Gods — one the First Cause, incomprehensible, with-
out will and influence over the universe ; the other
the God of Israel, the actual Creator of the world,
and Lawgiver of the Jewish people, who alone should
be worshiped. But the rabbis of Smyrna put a stop
to Cardoso's proceedings, threatened him with death,
and compelled him to leave Sabbatai Zevi's birth-
place. He betook himself thence to Constantinople
with his Smyrna adherents, later pursued his mis-
chievous behavior at Adrianople, Rhodosto, in Egypt,
the Archipelago, and Candia ; now as Messiah, now
as physician, composed numerous treatises on the
advent of the Messianic kingdom, expounded his
theosophical-dualistic theory, incurred debts, drew

2O8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

women into his Kabbalistic conventicle, and is said
to have lived immorally even to old age. At last
Cardoso was stabbed by his nephew, who believed
that he had been cheated by him (1706). His im-
posture did not cease with his death ; for his writ-
ings, a mixture of sense and nonsense, were eagerly
read, and inflamed men's minds. Abraham Michael
Cardoso remained at least faithful to Judaism, did
not reverence Sabbata'i Zevi as divine, vehemently
contended against this blasphemy, and did not go
over to Mahometanism. His prophet, Daniel Israel
Bonafoux, on the other hand, assumed the turban,
probably on account of the persecution suffered at
the hands of the rabbinate of Smyrna.

Far more important was the Kabbalistic fanaticism
spread by an itinerant Sabbatian preacher, and
transplanted to Poland, where it found congenial
soil, and maintained its ground tenaciously. Morde-
cai of Eisenstadt (Mochiach), even after the death
of the renegade, remained his faithful follower. A
disciple of Nathan and partisan of Cardoso, he re-
turned to his home from the East, was of preposses-
sing appearance and awe-inspiring features, lived an
ascetic life, fasted eleven days in succession, preached
in Hungary, Moravia, Bohemia, and Italy with much
impressiveness on penitence and contrition — in fact,
played the part of a Jewish Vincent Ferrer. The
applause which his preaching excited awakened his
confidence, and he gave himself out as a prophet.
In word and writing the preacher of Eisenstadt
maintained that Sabbata'i Zevi was the true Messiah,
obliged to become a Mussulman by high mystical
dispensation. The Hungarian, Moravian, and Bo-
hemian Jews listened to these Sabbatian preachings
and prophecies with eager interest. The Sabbatian
frenzy had so blunted their power of thought that
they were not offended at the notion of a new Mes-
siah who had apostatized from Judaism. Mordecai
went further in his folly, gave himself out as the true

CH. VI. MORDECAI OF EISENSTADT. 2OQ

Messiah of the house of David, and maintained that
he was Sabbatai Zevi risen from the dead. The lat-
ter had not been able to accomplish the work of re-
demption, because he was rich. The Messiah must
be poor; therefore he, Mordecai, being poor and
persecuted, was the true redeemer. All this non-
sense was accepted with credulous devotion. Some
Italian Jews formally invited the Hungarian Messiah
to come to them, and he obeyed the summons. At
Modena and Reggio he was received with enthusi-
asm. He talked of his mission — that he must go
to Rome in order to make Messianic preparations
in the sinful city. He cunningly hinted that he might
be obliged to assume a Christian disguise, as Sab-
batai Zevi had been obliged to veil himself in Turk-
ish clothing : that is, in case of need he would ap-
parently submit to baptism. Some Jews appear to
have betrayed his plans to the Roman Inquisition,
and his Italian followers advised him to leave Italy.
He went once more to Bohemia, but could not find
a footing there, and emigrated to Poland. Here,
whither only a dim rumor of Sabbatai and the Sab-
batians had penetrated, he found, it appears, numer-
ous followers ; for a sect was formed there which
pursued its baneful career until the beginning of
the age of Mendelssohn, and even beyond that
period.

At the same time the old imposture reappeared
under new forms in Turkey. Sabbatai Zevi had
left a widow, the daughter of Joseph Philosoph of
Salonica, a learned Talmudist. She is said either
from ambition or, as her enemies declared, from
licentious motives, to have led the Sabbatians into
fresh frenzy. Having returned to Salonica, she is
said to have passed off her brother, Jacob (surnamed
Ouerido, the favorite), as her son by Sabbatai Zevi.
This boy, who received the name of Jacob Zevi, be-
came an object of devout reverence to the Sabba-
tians, They believed that in him the united souls

2IO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

of the two Messiahs of the houses of Joseph and
David were born again ; he was therefore to be re-
garded as the true redeemer, the genuine successor
of Sabbataii. This new fantastic idea found the more
adherents because Querido's own father, Joseph
Philosoph, a man deeply versed in the Talmud, and
another learned Talmudist, Solomon Florentin,
joined the believers, and supported the new claim-
ant. The widow of the Messiah and her brother
Ouerido are said straightway to have recommended
and practiced sexual indulgence as a means of pro-
moting the work of redemption. The sinfulness of
the world, they maintained, could be overcome only
by a superabundance of sin, by the extremest degree
of licentiousness. Among these Salonica Sabba-
tians, then, shameless profligacy, even incest, were
openly practiced — so their enemies declared. One
thing only is certain, marriage was not regarded as
sacred among these people. According to the per-
verse teachings of the Luryan school of Kabbalists,
women who were not acceptable to their husbands,
being a hindrance to a harmonious mystical marriage,
could be divorced without further ceremony, and
made over to others, who felt themselves attracted
to them. This precept was only too eagerly obeyed
in the mystical circle. It was a peculiar sort of
" elective affinity." Several hundreds in Salonica
belonged to this Sabbatian sect, chiefly young
people. Amongst them was a young man named
Solomon Ayllon, afterwards rabbi in London and
Amsterdam, who shared in the prevailing loose life.
He married a wife, as the one appointed by heaven,
whom another man had forsaken without formal di-
vorce, and she was carried off from him by a third.
The Sabbatians of Salonica stood in close connec-
tion with other members of the sect in Adrianople
and Smyrna.

The rabbis could not regard this disorder with
indifference, and denounced the offenders to the

CH. VI. THE DONMAH. 211

Turkish authorities. The latter instituted investi-
gations, and sentenced them to severe punishments.
But the Sabbatians had learned from their founder
a means of appeasing the anger of Turkish rulers.
They all, to the number of four hundred it is said,
assumed the white turban (about 1687), and dis-
played more earnestness than Sabbatai in their
newly-adopted faith. The pseudo-Messiah Jacob
Zevi Querido with many of his followers made a pil-
grimage to Mecca, in order to pray at the tomb of
the prophet Mahomet. On the journey back he
died at Alexandria. The leadership of the Turco-
Jewish sect at Salonica was afterwards undertaken
by his son Berachya, or Barochya (about 1695-1740).
He also was regarded as the successor of Sabbatai
Zevi, as the embodiment of the original soul of the
Messiah, as the incarnate Deity. His followers
lived under the name Dolmah (properly Donmah),
that is, apostates from Judaism, a sect distinct alike
from Jews and Turks, who married only one another,
and attended the mosques now and then, but more
frequently assembled in secret for their own mystical
service, to worship their redeemer and man-God.
There are still in Salonica descendants of the sect
of Sabbatat-Querido-Berachya, who observe a
mixture of Kabbalistic and Turkish usages. Of Ju-
daism they retained only circumcision on the eighth
day and the Song of Solomon, the love dialogues and
monologues of which left them free play for mystical
and licentious interpretations. Recently the sultan
granted the Donmah, now said to number 4,000
members, the free exercise of their religion.

In spite, perhaps on account of these excesses on
the part of the Sabbatians of Salonica, opposed
alike to Judaism and morality, they continually
found fresh supporters, who clung to the delusion
with pertinacity, deceived themselves and others,
and gave impostors an opportunity to profit by this
fanatical humor. From the East and from Poland

212 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

secret Sabbatians crossed to and fro, from the latter
as itinerant preachers, from the former as pretended
messengers from the Holy Land, and continually
incited to fresh errors. The emissary Abraham
Cuenqui, from Hebron, who in Poland and Germany
claimed charity for the poor of that city, at the
request of a mystic gave a glowing description of
the life of Sabbata'i, whom he had seen and admired
in his youth. This biography, a sort of Sabbatian
gospel, is an excellent example of how in the field
of religion history takes the shape of myth, and
myth again transforms itself into history. In Poland,
probably at the instigation of the crazy Mordecai of
Eisenstadt, there arose a Sabbatian sect, which
believed that it was hastening the advent of the
kingdom of heaven by penitence. At its head
stood two men, Judah Chassid (the pious) of Dubno,
a narrow-minded simpleton, and Chayim Malach, a
cunning Talmudist. Both agitated the people by
exciting sermons, and found an applauding audience,
who joined them in penances and Kabbalistic ex-
travagances. The association was called Chassidim.
In Poland ignorance was so great that the rabbis
themselves did not recognize the power and mis-
chievous tendency of these Sabbatian enthusiasts.
From 1,300 to 1,500 of this sect, under Judah
Chassid, emigrated from Poland at the beginning
of the year 1 700, intending to journey to the Holy
Land, to await redemption there. Like the Chris-
tian flagellants of old, these so-called devotees

<L>

distinguished themselves by fasting many days, and
by mortifications of every kind. The leaders wore
on the Sabbath white garments of satin or cloth,
whereby they intended to signify the time of grace.
Wherever they went in Germany, they preached,
and exhorted to strict penance. Judah Chassid by
his powerful voice, his gestures, and bitter tears,
carried away his hearers. He wrought especially
upon the weak minds of women, to whom, contrary

CH. VI. JUDAH CHASSID. 213

to custom, he was wont to preach, with a Torah
roll under his arm, in the women's gallery. While
the greater number of the Chassidim were assem-

^>

bling in Moravia and Hungary, Judah Chassid
traveled with about 1 50 persons through Germany
from Altona to Frankfort-on-the-Main and Vienna,
everywhere preaching, wailing, and warning. The
sect, especially in the larger communities, was richly
supported. On account of the concourse of men
and women who flocked to these sectarians, the
rabbis did not venture to oppose their proceedings.
Samuel Oppenheim, the rich court Jew at Vienna,
supported the Chassidim richly, and procured pass-
ports for them to the East.

The enthusiasm of this sect soon came to an end.
On the first day after their arrival in Jerusalem their
principal leader Judah Chassid died ; his followers
were helpless, and instead of speedy redemption
found only horrible misery. Some of the Chassidim,
therefore, disappointed and in despair, went over to
Islam. The rest dispersed in all directions. Many
were baptized as Christians, amongst them Judah
Chassid's nephew, Wolf Levi of Lublin, who took
the name of Francis Lothair Philippi ; another
nephew, Isaiah Chassid, afterwards caused fresh
Sabbatian disturbances. Chayim Malach, however,
who made the acquaintance of the aged Samuel
Primo, Sabbataii Zevi's private secretary and coun-
selor, remained for several years in Jerusalem, and
presided over a small Sabbatian sect. He also
taught the doctrine of two Gods or three Gods, and
of the Divine incarnation, paid Sabbatai Zevi divine
reverence, and is said to have carried about his
image, carved in wood, in the synagogue, to be
worshiped, and his followers are said to have danced
round it. Chayim Malach aimed at the destruction
of Rabbinical Judaism or Judaism in general. It is
incomprehensible how the community of Jerusalem
could have witnessed his proceedings for years

214 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

without opposing them. Probably the rabbis there
shared the Sabbatian idolatry, or profited by it.
However, Chayim Malach seems at length to have
been banished from Jerusalem. He then betook
himself to the Mahometan Sabbatians at Salonica,
the Donmah, took part in their extravagances, then
went about preaching in several Turkish communi-
ties, and openly taught the Sabbatian imposture.
At Constantinople he was excommunicated, and on
his second residence in that community was banished
by Chacham Bashi (about 1709). He thereupon
returned through Germany to Poland, scattering the
seed of Sabbatian heresy, destined to undermine
Judaism. His death is said to have been due to
excessive drinking.

At the same time that Malach was sowing seed-
grains in Poland for the process of dissolution, the
torch of discord was hurled into the Jewish camp by
two disguised Sabbatians, Chayon and Ayllon.
The one through imposture, the other through stub-
bornness and dogmatism, promoted a movement
which presents very unpleasant features. Solomon
Ayllon (born about 1667, died 1728), of Spanish
descent, was born at Safet, and his mind was filled
with the errors of the Kabbala. In his youth he fell
in with the Sabbatians of Salonica, and in part
shared their extravagances. Later he went to
Leghorn, and after the death of the worthy and
accomplished rabbi, Jacob Abendana, was invited to
London to fill his place (1696-1707). Ayllon had
enemies in London who, having heard of his not
wholly irreproachable youth, implored one rabbi
after another to procure his dismissal from office.
From dread of the public scandal which would arise
were it known that a former adherent of the notori-
ous Sabbata'i had officiated as rabbi, all who were
consulted advised that the ugly story be forgotten.
Ayllon was not distinguished in any branch of
learning, not even in knowledge of the Talmud, nor

CH. VI. NEHEMIAH CHAYON.

could he have had an over-scrupulous conscience.
While treating for the post of rabbi at Amsterdam,
the London community being unwilling to lose him,
he swore a solemn oath that he would not accept
the post offered to him, although he had already
o-iven his consent to the Amsterdam council, and

<3

actually accepted the office. He palliated his con-
duct in a sophistical and Jesuitical manner. His
youthful predilection for Sabbatian errors, which he
does not appear entirely to have abandoned even
as rabbi of Amsterdam, induced Ayllon to give his
aid to an arrant rogue, and thereby to help in
producing profound dissensions in the Jewish world.
This arch-impostor, who in hypocrisy, audacity,
and unscrupulousness had but few equals in the
eighteenth century, so rich in impostors, was
Nehemiah Chiya Chayon (born about 1650, died
after 1726). He took especial delight in mystifica-
tion and extravagances, and from his youth led an
adventurous, easy life of dissimulation. The career
of this Kabbalistic adventurer is characteristic of the
demoralization of the age in various ways. Chayon
received his Talmudical instruction at Hebron,
where the Sabbatian intoxication had made many
victims. He possessed considerable logical acute-
ness, was ready at discovering contradictions and
incongruities ; but his giddy brain and cold heart,
bent on the satisfaction of low cravings, induced him
to make corrupt use of his powers. Of the Talmud
and Rabbinical literature he understood enough to

c_>

be able to appear at home in them, but he had no
real attraction to these studies, nor any religious
feeling. He was observant from hypocrisy ; when
not watched, he disregarded the demands of religion

^j ^>

and morality. He could assume a serious, awe-
inspiring manner, and held men enthralled by his
attractive appearance, his Kabbalistic scraps, and
his mysterious demeanor. He generally enacted
the part of a saint, at the same time singing love-

2l6 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VL

songs and associating with women. He was, as he
himself confessed, in close relation with the Sabba-
tians at Salonica, and had taken trouble to get
possession of their writings. He frequently con-
versed with their leader, Samuel Primo, about
Kabbalistic projects. It is said that in one of these
interviews he proposed a new doctrine of a Trinity.
He composed a work in which he maintained that
Judaism, to be sure Kabbalistic Judaism, inculcated
belief in a triune God. With this manuscript in his
otherwise empty coffer he went to Smyrna, in the
spring of the year 1 708, intending to seek his fortune
either with the Sabbatians or with their opponents.
He did, in fact, succeed in hoodwinking some rich
men of Smyrna. His patrons pledged themselves
mutually and to Chayon to give him powerful
support. The arch-rogue was treated at Smyrna
as a holy prophet, and nearly the whole community
escorted him to the ship which was to convey him
back to Palestine. His schemes were for the
moment crowned with success. But before Chayon
could settle down, the rabbinate of Jerusalem
launched a sentence of excommunication against
him, condemned his work, which they had not even
read, to be burned (June 1708), and refused to give
a hearing to the author. This gross blunder re-
venged itself afterwards. For the moment, how-
ever, Chayon was defeated. As one formally inter-
dicted by the chief college in Palestine, he could not
settle anywhere. The enthusiasm of his patrons in
Smyrna was extinguished as quickly as it had blazed
up, for the favor of men is changeable.

Thus Chayon after a few days of good fortune
was again reduced to mendicancy. In Italy, whither
he had gone after leaving Egypt, and where he
spent some years begging (1709-171 1), his schemes
met with little sympathy. At Venice only he met
with some consideration from rabbis and the
laity. Here he printed a small pamphlet, an extract

CH. VI. DAVID OPPENHEIM. 2 1/

from his larger work, wherein he openly set forth
the Trinity as an article of the Jewish faith, not the
Christian Trinity, but three persons (Parzufim) in
the Godhead, the holy Primeval One, or Soul of all
Souls, the Holy King, or incarnation of Deity, and
a female Person (the Shechina). This nonsense, an
insult to Judaism and its conception of God, was
repeated by Chayon in doggerel, which he recom-
mended as edifying prayers for the especially pious.
Bold and venturesome, he interwove with the first
verses the words of a low Italian song, " Fair Mar-
garet." And this blasphemous pamphlet (" Secret
of the Trinity," " Raza di Yechuda ") was accepted
and recommended by the rabbinate of Venice, either
because they had not seen it before it was printed,
or because by reason of Kabbalistic stupidity they
did not perceive its drift. Chayon did not stay long
at Venice. He betook himself to Prague, where he
found credulous faith, favorable to his work of decep-
tion. The leaders of the community, old and young
rabbis and students of the Talmud, were all filled
with it.

David Oppenheim, chief rabbi of Prague, more
famous for his rich collection of books than on
account of his deeds and literary work, was an
inveterate Kabbalist. To be sure he had no leisure
to concern himself about the itinerant preacher
Chayon, or the affairs of the community and the
interest of Judaism. He needed his time for money
transactions with the funds which, tog-ether with a

c>

considerable library, his rich uncle at Vienna, Samuel
Oppenheim, had left him. David Oppenheim, there-
fore, seldom met Chayon ; but his son Joseph, who
was enchanted with his Kabbalistic juggling, took
him into his house. He was well received also by
the Kabbalistic rabbi, Naphtali Cohen, who was
then living at Prague, and whose thaumaturgy had
cost him dear. And if the house of Oppenheim,
and Naphtali Cohen paid him homage, who would

2l8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

fail to exert himself for the pretended preacher or
emissary from Palestine, as Chayon professed to
be ? No wonder that industrious youthful students
of the Talmud, thirsting for knowledge, thronged to
Chayon ! Among these was Jonathan Eibeschutz,
afterwards so notorious, who was living at that time
in Prague. Chayon preached sermons at Prague, and
entranced his hearers by his sophistical and witty
manner, which made the most inconsistent things
appear reconcilable. Now and then he allowed the
erroneous doctrine of the Salonica Sabbatians to
crop out, viz., that sin can be overcome only by a
superabundance of sinfulness, by the satisfaction of
all, even the most wicked, desires, and by the trans-
gression of the Torah. He told his Prague adherents,
or caused it to be circulated by his Venetian com-
panion, that he conversed with the prophet Elijah,
that he could compel the Godhead to reveal itself to
him, and that he was able to call the dead to life and
to create new worlds — all of which found credence.
He wrote amulets, which were eagerly sought after,
and at the same time in secret led a profligate life.
The money derived from imposture he wasted in
card-playing. At last he ventured to submit his
heretical work, his Sabbatian confession of faith in
the Trinity, to Naphtali Cohen for his opinion, and
showed him forged testimonials from Italian rabbis.
From admiration for Chayon's person Naphtali
Cohen, without even having o-lanced at the manu-

fj o

script, expressed not simply his approval, but gave
him a glowing recommendation — a careless habit
characteristic of the rabbis of that time, which on
this occasion was destined to revenge itself bitterly.
Provided with forged and filched recommendations,
Chayon deceived many other communities, those of
Vienna, Nikolsburg, Prosnitz, Breslau, Glogau, and
Berlin. He succeeded in passing himself off as a
prophet before the credulous German Jews, and in
being maintained by them. Secretly he entered

CH. VI. CHAYON IN BERLIN. 2 19

into close relations with a Sabbatian enthusiast or
impostor, Lobele Prosnitz, who cut out the four He-
brew letters of the name of God in gold tinsel, stuck
it on his breast, and made it shine before the dazzled
eyes of the credulous by means of burning- alcohol
and turpentine. Like savages, the Moravian Jews
gazed at Lobele Prosnitz's alcohol miracle. At
Berlin, where Chayon spent several months, he en-
joyed the best opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
The community of Berlin, increased to more than a
hundred families, had fallen into disunion, apparently
through two mutually hostile families at court. The
widow of the court jeweler, Liebmann, was a favorite
of King Frederick I, and was therefore disliked by
the crown prince, afterwards Frederick William I.
The latter had his own Jew in attendance, Marcus
Magnus, the mortal enemy of the house of Liebmann,
not merely from complaisance to the successor to
the throne. The feud between the two Jewish
houses in Berlin spread to the whole community,
divided it into two parties, and affected even the
synagogue. When the fire of faction burned most
furiously, Chayon came to Berlin, and turned the
quarrel to his own advantage. He joined the Lieb-
mann party, which, though the weaker of the two,
was rich, and therefore more willing to make sacri-
fices. The rabbi of Berlin, Aaron Benjamin Wolf,
son-in-law of the court Jewess Liebmann, a simple
fellow, treated Chayon with honorable distinction.
Naphtali Cohen, who had come to Berlin, could have
unmasked Chayon, but was afraid, as he said, to in-
flame the quarrel still further. Thus Chayon without
molestation was able in Berlin to print his heretical
book, with which he had begun his mischievous pro-
ceedings five years before at Smyrna. He gave his
work the artful title, "The Belief of the Universe"
(" Mehemenuta de Cola "). The main text, the pro-
duction of a Sabbatian (some thought of Sabbatai
Zevi himself), proclaims the "holy king," the Mes-

22O HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

siah, the incarnate Deity, as the God of Israel, and
as the exclusive object of reverence and worship.
Chayon added two sophistical commentaries, wherein
he proved in various ways that the God of Judaism
was the Trinity. In the prayer, " Hear, O Israel,
God is one," every Jew must needs think of this
Trinity, otherwise he cannot attain to salvation,
even if he fulfills all religious and moral duties. This
belief alone can make a man certain of bliss. So
low had Judaism sunk, that such blasphemy was
printed before the eyes and with the consent of a
rabbi — Aaron Benjamin Wolf, at Berlin — probably
at the expense of the Liebmann party ! Chayon
had the audacity to order forged testimonials of
rabbis to be prefixed, as though they had read the
book and recommended it. With this work he
hastened by way of Hamburg to Amsterdam, to
make his fortune in that Jewish Eldorado, and thus
schism was introduced into the Jewish world.

The community of Amsterdam had been suffi-
ciently warned of the machinations of the Sabbatians.
The Jerusalem rabbi, Abraham Yizchaki, who had
been appointed an emissary to collect alms, behaved
like a papal legate, invested with supremacy over
everything religious, and like a grand inquisitor com-
missioned to destroy the heresy which had been gain-
ing ground. At Smyrna the heretical writings of
the fanatic Abraham Michael Cardoso were in the
hands of a few secret Sabbatians. At Yizchaki's
suggestion these had to be given up by their owners
under threat of excommunication and severe tem-
poral punishment, and they were burned. The com-
munity of Smyrna thereby felt itself freed from a
heavy burden, and was thankful to its liberator.
Yizchaki had also come to Amsterdam, and had
warned the rabbis and the communal council against
Sabbatian emissaries, and drew attention to the hint
of the Smyrna rabbinate, that a secret Sabbatian
was on his way to print Cardoso's writings. In fact

CH. VI. CHACHAM ZEVI. 221

a Sabbatian emissary did come to Amsterdam for
that purpose. Chayon at first conducted himself
modestly, and affiliated with the Portuguese. He
presented the council with a copy of his work on the
Trinity printed at Berlin, in order to obtain leave to
sell it. He appears to have passed himself off as
an emissary from Palestine. Hereupon bickerings
arose, which began with personal feeling and ended
in wide-spread dissension.

The rabbi of the German community, Zevi Ash-
kenazi, called Chacham Zevi, was much excited at the
news of Chayon's presence in Amsterdam. This
man, whose father had belonged to the most zealous
Sabbatians, while he himself and his son, Jacob Em-
den, were destined to fight against them with vehe-
ment zeal, was gifted with a clear head, and combined
thoroughness with acuteness in the study of the Tal-
mud. In his eighteenth year he had been consulted
as an expert in the Talmud. Pampered, sought
after, married while young to the daughter of a rich
man at Buda and thereby rendered independent, he
became proud, self-conscious, and vain of his knowl-
edge of the Talmud. On account of his Talmudical
learning he was invited to be chief rabbi of the Ger-
man community at Amsterdam (1710); he preferred
to be called Chacham. Here he looked down with
great contempt upon his Portuguese colleagues,
especially upon Solomon Ayllon, and would never
regard him as his equal in rank. " Chacham Zevi
wishes to rank higher even than the prophet
Moses," was the judgment passed upon him by
Ayllon.

As soon as the name of Chayon reached the ears
of the German Chacham, he connected it with a
former enemy of his at Bosna-Serai in Bosnia, where
Zevi had been rabbi for a short time, and he imme-
diately intimated to the Portuguese authorities that
it would be wise to show no sort of favor to the
stranger, as he was a man of evil notoriety. Nehe-

222 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

miah Chayon explained that the mistake in his iden-
tity was caused by similarity of names, and behaved
so very humbly towards Chacham Zevi, that the lat-
ter soon informed the council that he had nothing
to urge against the stranger, whose identity he had
mistaken. Chayon appeared to have removed ev-
ery obstacle from his path at Amsterdam, when
Moses Chages, of Jerusalem, who was in Holland,
sounded the alarm against him, perhaps because he
feared him as a Palestinian rival. The heretical
work printed at Berlin was put before him for exam-
ination, as some members of the council did not trust
their Chacham Ayllon. Scarcely had he looked into
it, when he raised the cry of heresy. In fact, it did
not need lengthy search in the book to find an ex-
plicit enunciation of the doctrine of the Trinity.
The German Chacham, having had his attention
drawn by Moses Chages to Chayon's suspicious
doctrine, again notified, almost ordered, the Portu-
guese council, to banish instead of favoring the
stranger. The council, not disposed to accept such
abrupt orders, requested Chacham Zevi either to
point out the heretical passages in Chayon's book,
or to join with some members nominated by the
council as a committee to examine it. Chacham
Zevi, at the advice of Chages, rejected both pro-
posals flatly, saying that as rabbi he was not obliged
to bring forward proofs, but simply to pronounce
final judgment. Still less did he choose to take
council with Ayllon, as this would have been tanta-
mount to recognizing him as a Talmudist of equal
rank with himself. The haughty behavior of the
Chacham, on the one hand, and Ayllon's sensitive-
ness, on the other, kindled a spark into a bright
flame.

The Portuguese Chacham had reason to feel him-
self slighted and to complain. His own congrega-
tion had passed him over in this matter, shown dis-
trust towards him, and set his opponent over him

CH. VI. SOLOMON AYLLON. 223

as a higher authority. Besides, he appears to have
feared the cunning adventurer, who if persecuted
might reveal more than was desirable of Ayllon's
past history and relations to the Salonica heretics.
He felt it his interest to remain on Chayon's side
and protect him against the threatened banishment
from Amsterdam. It was not difficult for him to
prejudice a member of the Portuguese council,
Aaron de Pinto, a resolute, unbending, hard man,
indifferent to spiritual problems, against the German
Chacham, and persuade him of his duty to guard
the independence of the old, respectable, and superi-
or Portuguese, against the presumptuousness of the
hitherto subordinate German, community. Ayllon
converted the important question of orthodoxy and
heresy into one of precedence between the com-
munities. De Pinto treated the affair in this light,
and the other members of the council conformed to
his resolute will. He straightway rejected the in-
terference of the German Chacham in an affair of
concern only to the Portuguese community, broke
off all negotiations with him, and commissioned
Ayllon to appoint a committee of Portuguese to ex-
amine and report on Chayon's work. Ayllon added
to the college of rabbis four men, of whom only one
understood the question. This one hesitated to
join the committee, but was compelled to do so.
The others were totally ignorant of theology, and
accordingly dependent on Ayllon's judgment.
Ayllon and the council, that is, Pinto, made the
members of the committee swear to let no one see
the copies of Chayon's work handed to them for
examination, in fact, to keep everything secret until
the final judgment was pronounced. The petty
question of tolerating or expelling a begging adven-
turer thus attained great importance.

Whilst the Portuguese committee was still appar-
ently engaged in the business of examination, Cha-
cham Zevi, in conjunction with Moses Chages,

224 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI

hastened to pronounce sentence of excommunication
against Chayon and his heretical book, because " he
sought to draw Israel away from his God and to in-
troduce strange gods (the Trinity)." No one was
to have dealings with the author until he recanted
his error. His writings in any case were to be com-
mitted to the flames. This sentence of condemna-
tion was printed in Hebrew and Portuguese, and
circulated as a pamphlet. A great portion of the
objections raised by these two zealots against Chay-
on's writings was equally applicable to the Zohar
and other Kabbalistic books. Short-sighted as they
were, they saw only the evil consequences of the
Kabbalistic errors, not their original cause.

Great was the excitement of the Jews of Amster-
dam over this step. Chacham Zevi and Moses
Chages were affronted and abused in the streets by
Portuguese Jews, and it was asserted that Ayllon
employed disreputable people for this purpose.
When Chages appeared the rabble shouted, " Stone
him, slay him." Attempts at reconciliation failed ;
partly through the dogmatism of Ayllon, who re-
fused to admit himself wrong, partly through the
firmness of De Pinto, who simply had in view the
dignity of the Portuguese community. Pamphlets
increased the bitter feeling.

The quarrel of the Amsterdam Jews made a great
stir elsewhere, and was the cause of party strife.
Ayllon and De Pinto forbade the members of their
community, under threat of excommunication, to
read pamphlets, or to express themselves either
verbally or in writing upon the matter. They also
hastened the delivery of the verdict, which, however,
was drawn up by Ayllon alone. It declared, in di-
rect opposition to the decision of Chacham Zevi and
Chages, that Chayon's work taught nothing offensive
or dangerous to Judaism ; it contained only the doc-
trines found in other Kabbalistic writings. It was
officially made known in the synagogues (August

CH. VI. DISSENSION IN AMSTERDAM. 225

14, 1713) that Chayon was acquitted of the charge
of heresy brought against him, and that he had been
innocently persecuted. The day after, the original
cause of the strife was carried in triumph into the
Portuguese chief synagogue, and to the vexation
of his opponents, almost worshiped. The false
prophet, who had openly declared, " Come, let us
worship false gods," was loaded with homage by the
Portuguese who had staked life and property for the
unity of God. They cheered Chayon in the syna-
gogue, and cried " Down with his adversaries." In
secret Chayon probably laughed at the complications
he had caused, and at the credulity of the multitude.
De Pinto took care that Chacham Zevi should not
be supported by his own German community, but
should be left exposed, without protection, to the
rough treatment of his opponents. He found him-
self entirely isolated, almost like a person under
interdict.

But help came to Chacham Zevi from without.
The rabbis whose pretended letters of recommen-
dation Chayon had prefixed to his work declared
them to be forged. The deepest impression was
made by the letters of the highly respected, aged
rabbi of Mantua, Leon Brieli, who, well acquainted
with the past history of the impostor, unmasked him,
and approved of the sentence of condemnation
against his heretical book. Brieli wrote urgently
to the Amsterdam council, and to Ayllon, in Hebrew
and Italian, imploring them not to lend their author-
ity to so bad a cause. But they remained stubborn,
answered him politely, yet evasively. The quarrel
rose higher every day in the Amsterdam community;
every one took one side or the other, defending
his view with bitterness, passion, and frequently with
vigorous action. Peace vanished from this pattern
community^ and dissension was carried into family
life. Matters had gone so far that the leaders
could not yield. Ayllon and De Pinto went to

226 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

greater lengths in their obstinacy. They suggested
that the Portuguese council summon Chacham Zevi,
the rabbi of the German community (over whom it
had no authority whatever), before its tribunal, with
the intention of shaming him or of inducing him to
recant. When he paid no heed, it laid him and
Moses Chages under the ban, most strictly forbid-
ding the members of the community to have dealings
with them, protect them, or intercede for them with
the civic authorities.

As though the council and the rabbinate had been
infected by Chayon's baseness, they committed one
meanness after another. In justification of their
course of action they distorted the actual state of
the case, and made use of notorious falsehoods.
They encouraged, or at least countenanced, Chayon
in calumniating his opponents with the vilest and
most revolting aspersions, not only Chacham Zevi
and Chages, but even the wise and venerable rabbi,
Leon Brieli, and supported Chayon in all his audac-
ities. The Portuguese council and the rabbinate,
or rather De Pinto and Ayllon, for their colleagues
were mere puppets, persecuted Chayon's opponents
as though they were lost to all feeling of right.
With Moses Chages they had an easy game. He
lived on the Portuguese community ; and when they
withdrew the means of sustenance, he was com-
pelled to leave Amsterdam with his helpless family
and migrate to Altona. They also pressed Chacham
Zevi hard, annoyed him, accused him before the civil
authorities, and prevented any one's assisting him.
He, too, left Amsterdam, either De Pinto procuring
his banishment at the hands of the magistrates, or
Chacham Zevi, in order to anticipate scandalous
expulsion, going into banishment of his own accord.
He repaired to London, in the first instance, then
by way of Breslau to Poland, and was everywhere
honorably received and treated.

His opponents, Chayon, Ayllon, and De Pinto, were

CH. VI. CRAYON EXCOMMUNICATED. 22/

not able to enjoy the fruits of their victory. The
apparently trivial dispute had assumed large dimen-
sions. Almost all the German, Italian, Polish, and
even some African communities with their rabbis
espoused the cause of the persecuted Chacham Zevi,
and hurled sentences of excommunication upon the
unscrupulous heretic. These anathemas were pub-
lished, and unsparingly revealed Chayon's villainy,
bringing to light the sentence passed upon him
years before at Jerusalem. The exposure of his
character by witnesses who came from countries
where his past history was well known, contributed
to ruin the false prophet of the new Trinity.

But the Portuguese of Amsterdam, or at least
their leaders, would not drop him, either because
they believed his audacious lies or from a sense of
shame and obstinacy. They saw clearly, however,
that Chayon must take steps to calm the storm
raised against him. They therefore favored his
journey to the East, providing him with money and
recommendations to influential Jews and Christians,
who were to aid him in loosing the ban passed upon
him in the Turkish capital. But the journey proved
full of thorns for Chayon ; no Jew admitted him into
his house, or gave him entertainment. Like Cain,
curse-laden, he was obliged to flee from place to
place in Europe. At last he had to take ship in
haste to Constantinople. He was followed by fresh
accusations of heresy, not only from Chages and
Naphtali Cohen, but also from the highly esteemed
Kabbalist Joseph Ergas, and the London preacher
David Nieto, who calmly exposed, in Hebrew and
Spanish, the heresy, falsehood, and villainy of this
hypocritical Sabbatian.

At Constantinople Chayon was avoided by the
Jews, and treated as an outcast ; but his Amsterdam
letters of recommendation paved the way for him
with a vizir, who ordered his Jewish agents to accord
him support. In spite of his artifices, however, the

228 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

rabbinate of Constantinople refused to remove the
sentence against him, but referred him to the college
of Jerusalem, the first to proscribe him. Several
years elapsed before three rabbis, probably intimi-
dated by the vizir, declared themselves ready to
free Chayon from the ban, but they added the con-
dition that he should never again teach, preach, or
publish Kabbalistic doctrines. Chayon bound him-
self by a solemn oath, given to be broken at the
first opportunity. With a letter, which testified to
his re-admission into the Jewish communion, he
hastened to Europe for fresh adventures and im-
postures.

Meanwhile the Sabbatian intoxication had spread
in Poland, especially in Podolia and the district of
Lemberg. There are revolting evidences extant
of the immorality of the Podolian Sabbatians : how
they wallowed in a pool of shameless profligacy, all
the while pretending to redeem the world. Their
violation and contempt of Tadmudical Judaism were
for a long time kept secret, but they strove to win
adherents, preaching, and explaining the Zohar to
support their immoral theories. As their sect grew,
they raised the mask of piety a little, came out more
boldly, and were solemnly excommunicated by the
Lemberg rabbinate with extinguished tapers in the
synagogue. But this sect could not be suppressed
by such means. Its members were inspired with a
fanatical desire to scorn the Talmud, the breath of
life of the Polish Jews, and to set up in its place the
Kabbala and its Bible, the Zohar, and this plan they
endeavored to put into execution.

Their leaders secretly sent (1725) an emissary in
the person of Moses Me'ir Kamenker into Moravia,
Bohemia, and Germany, to establish a connection
with the Sabbatians of these countries, and perhaps
also to beg for money for their undertaking. Kam-
enker traveled through several communities without
being found out. Who could divine the thoughts

CH. VI. SABBATIAN PROPAGANDA. 2 29

of this begging Polish rabbi, who understood how
to dispute in the manner of the Talmud, and rolled
his eyes in a pious, hypocritical manner? Moses
Mei'r entered into relations with Jonathan Eibeschiitz
at Prague, who though young was regarded as a
most thorough and acute Talmudist, but who was
entangled in the snares of the Sabbatian Kabbala.

c>

Moses Me'ir pressed on unrecognized to Mannheim,
where a secret Sabbatian of Judah Chassid's following
passed himself off among his companions as the
Messiah returned to earth. From Mannheim these
two Polish Sabbatians threw out their nets, and
deluded the simple with sounding phrases from the
Zohar. Their main doctrine was that Jews devoted
to the Talmud had not the right faith, which was
rooted only in the Kabbala. At the same time a
work, apparently Kabbalistic, was disseminated
from Prague. Its equal can scarcely be found for
absurdity, perversity, and blasphemy ; the coarsest
notions bein^ brought into connection with the

O c>

Godhead in Talmudic and Zoharistic forms of ex-
pression. It also develops the doctrine of persons
in the Godhead — the Primeval One and the God
of Israel, and hints that from a higher standpoint
the Torah and the laws have no significance. It
was reported at the time that Jonathan Eibeschiitz
was the author of this production, as revolting as it
is absurd.

Chance brought these underhand proceedings to
light. Moses Mei'r was enticed to Frankfort by
promises, and in the house of Rabbi Jacob Kahana
his conduct was exposed. Many heretical writings
were found upon him as well as letters by Sabba-
tians, amongst them letters from and to Eibeschiitz.
An examination of witnesses was held by three rabbis
(July, 1725). Several witnesses denounced Moses
Meir, Isaiah Chassid, and Lobele Prosnitz as closely
allied fanatical Sabbatians, Eibeschiitz also being
connected with them. These three, indeed, regarded

230 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VI.

him as Sabbatai's successor, as the genuine Mes-
siah. The witnesses averred that they had received
Kabbalistic heretical writings about the Song of
Solomon, and others, from Moses Meir. They
pretended also to have heard many blasphemies
that could not be repeated. Because of the writ-
ings found upon Moses Mei'r Kamenker and the
testimony of witnesses, the rabbinate of Frankfort
pronounced upon him, his companions, and all
Sabbatians, the severest possible sentence, decree-
ing that no one should have dealings with them in
any form whatever, and that every Jew should be
bound to inform the rabbis of the secret Sabbatians,
and reveal their misconduct without respect of
persons. The rabbis of the German communities
of Altona-Hamburg and Amsterdam joined in this
sentence ; they ordered it to be read in the syna-
gogues for the information of all, and had it printed.
The same was done at Frankfort-on-the-Oder at
fair-time in the presence of many Jews from other
towns, and several Polish rabbis did the same.
They at last realized that only by united forces and
continuous efforts could an end be put to the follies
of the Sabbatians.

Just at this time Chayon returned to Europe, and
increased the confusion. To protect himself from
persecution, he secretly approached Christians,
obtained access to the imperial palace at Vienna,
partly severed his connection with the Jews, reviled
them as blind men who reject the true faith, let it be
understood that he, too, taught the doctrine of the
Trinity, and that he could bring over the Jews.
Provided with a letter of protection from the court,
he proceeded on his journey, and again played a
double game, living secretly as a Sabbatian, openly
as an orthodox Jew released from the interdict.
It is hardly credible, as contemporaries relate of
Chayon, that at the age of nearly eighty, he took
about with him as his wife a notorious prostitute,

CH. VI. CHAYON S END. 23!

whom he had picked up in Hungary. He did not
meet with so good a reception this time ; distrust
had been excited against secret Sabbatians, especi-
ally against him. At Prague he was not admitted
into the city. At Berlin, Chayon wrote to a former
acquaintance that, if the money he needed were not
sent him, he was resolved to be baptized to the
disgrace of the Jews. At Hanover, his papers were
taken from him, which exposed him still more.
Thus the rogue dragged himself to Amsterdam in
the hope of again finding enthusiastic friends. But
Ayllon would have nothing more to do with him ; he
is said to have repented having favored Chayon.
The latter was included in the proscription of the
Sabbatians and excommunicated (1726). Moses
Chages, formerly persecuted by him, now occupied
an honored position in Altona. He was considered
the chief of the heresy judges, so to say, and he
dealt Chayon the last blow. The latter could
not hold his own in Europe or in the East,
and therefore repaired to northern Africa, where he
died. His son was converted to Christianity, and,
whilst at Rome, through his false, or half-true accusa-
tions, he drew the attention of the Inquisition to
ancient Jewish literature, which he declared to be
inimical to Christianity.

CHAPTER VII.

THE AGE OF LUZZATTO, EIBESCHUTZ, AND FRANK.

Poetical Works of Moses Chayim Luzzatto — Luzzatto ensnared in the
Kahbala— His Contest with Rabbinical Authorities— Luzzatto's
last Drama — Jonathan Eibeschiitz — Character and Education of
Eibeschiitz — His Relations with the Jesuits in Prague— The Aus-
trian War of Succession — Expulsion of the Jews from Prague —
Eibeschiitz becomes Rabbi of Altona — Jacob Emden — Eibe-
schiitz charged with Heresy — The Controversy between Emden
and Eibeschiitz — The Amulets — Party Strife — Interference by
Christians and the Civil Authorities — Revival of Sabbatianism —
Jacob Frank Lejbowicz and the Frankists — The Doctrine of the
Trinity — Excesses of the Frankists.

1727— 1760 C. E.

THE disgrace and disappointment caused by vision-
aries and impostors during almost a whole century,
the lamentable effects of the careers of Sabbatai
Zevi and his band of prophets — Cardoso, Mordecai
of Eisenstadt, Ouerido, Judah Chassid, Chayim Ma-
lach, Chayon, and others — failed to suppress Kab-
balistic and Messianic extravagances. As yet these
impostors only invited fresh imitators, who found
a credulous circle ready to believe in them, and thus
new disorders were begotten. The unhealthy hu-
mors which, during the lapse of ages, had been in-
troduced into the organism of Judaism appeared as
hideous eruptions on the surface, but this might be
considered the sign of convalescence. Corruption
had seized even the most delicate organs. A gifted
youth, endowed with splendid talents, who in ordi-
nary circumstances would have become an ornament
to Judaism, was tainted by the general degradation,
and under the spell of mysticism misapplied his ex-
cellent gifts, and contributed to error. It is impos-
sible to resist a feeling of sorrow at finding this
amiable man with his ideal character falling into

232

OH. VII. MOSES CHAYIM LUZZATTO. 233

errors which bring him down to the level of such
impure spirits as Chayon and Lobele Prosnitz — a
many-colored sunbeam extinguished in a swamp. It
we denounce the Kabbala, which has begotten such
unspeakable misconceptions of Judaism, and are
justly wrathful against its authors and propagators,
we feel specially indignant when we find two noble
young men of high endowments and purity of life,
Solomon Molcho and Luzzatto, following its chim-
eras, and thereby precipitating themselves into the
abyss. Both literally sacrificed their lives for dreams,
the confused imagery of which was suggested by the
dazing medley of the Kabbala. Although Luzzatto
did not meet with a tragic end like the Portuguese
Marrano who shared his convictions, yet he, too,
was a martyr, none the less because his wounds had
been inflicted by himself under the influence of ex-
citement.

Moses Chayim Luzzatto (born 1707, died 1747)
was the son of very wealthy parents, natives of
Padua. His father, who carried on an extensive silk
business, spared no expense in educating him. The
two ancient languages, Hebrew and Latin, which in
Italy were in a measure a literary necessity, the one
among Jews, the other among Christians, Luzzatto
acquired in early youth ; but they had an influence
on his mind altogether different from that which
they obtained over his contemporaries. Both en-
riched his genius, and promoted its higher develop-
ment. Latin opened for him the realm of the beauti-
ful, Hebrew the gates of the sublime. Luzzatto had
a poet's delicately-strung soul, an yEolian harp,
which responded to every breath with harmonious,
tuneful vibrations. His poetic gift displayed at once
power and sweetness, wealth of fancy and richness
of imagery, combined with due sense of proportion.
A believer in the transmigration of souls might have
said that the soul of the Hebrew-Castilian singer,
Jehuda Halevi, had been born again in Luzzatto, but

234 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

had become more perfect, more matured, more ten-
der, and endowed with a more delicate sense of
harmony, encompassed as he was by the musical
atmosphere of his Italian fatherland. Even in early
boyhood every event, joyful or sad, was to him a
complete picture, a little work of art, wherein color
and euphony were revealed together. A youth of
seventeen, he discerned with such remarkable clear-
ness the hidden charm of language, the laws of har-
mony, deducible from the higher forms of eloquence
as from poetry, and the grace of rhythm and cadence,
that he composed a work on the subject, and illus-
trated it by beautiful examples from sacred poetry.
He contemplated introducing a new meter into
modern Hebrew poetry, in order to obtain greater
variety in the succession of long and short syllables,
and thus produce a musical cadence. The Hebrew
language is usually classified among the dead
tongues. To Luzzatto, however, it was full of life,
vigor, youth, clearness, and euphony. He used
Hebrew as a pliant instrument, and drew from it
sweet notes and caressing melodies : he renewed

O

its youth, invested it with a peculiar charm, in short,
lived in it as though his ear had absorbed the rich
tones of Isaiah's eloquence. Incomparably more
gifted than Joseph Penso de la Vega, Luzzatto, like-
wise in his seventeenth year, composed a drama on
the biblical theme of Samson and the Philistines.
This early work gives promise of the future master.
The versification is faultless, the thoughts original,
and the language free from bombast and redun-
dancy. His Hebrew prose, too, is an agreeable
contrast to the insipid, ornate, and laboriously witty
style of his Jewish contemporaries ; it has much of
the simplicity, polish, and vivacity of the biblical
narrative. Before his twentieth year Luzzatto had
composed one hundred and fifty hymns, which are
only an imitation of the old psalter, but the language
of which is marked by fervor and purity. It was

CH. VII. ENSNARED BY THE KABBALA. 235

perhaps during the same period that he composed
his second Hebrew drama, in four acts — " The High
Tower, or The Innocence of the Virtuous"- —beauti-
ful in versification, melodious in language, but poor
in thought. The young poet had not yet seen life
in its fullness, nor keenly studied its contrasts and
struggles. He was acquainted only with idyllic
family life and academic peace. Even virtue and
vice, love and selfishness, which he desired to rep-
resent in his drama, were known to him but by hear-
say. His muse becomes eloquent only when she
sings of God's sublimity. Isolated verses are fault-
less, but the work as a whole is that of a schoolboy.
He was too dependent on Italian models — still
walked on stilts.

This facility and versatility in clothing both plati-
tudes and original thoughts in new as well as bor-
rowed forms, and the over-abundance of half-
matured ideas, which, if he could have perfected
them, might have proved a blessing to Judaism and
to himself, were transformed into a curse. One
day (Sivan, 1727) he was seized with the desire to
imitate the mystic language of the Zohar, and he
succeeded as well as in the case of the psalms.
His sentences and expressions were deceptively
similar to those of his model, just as high-sounding,
apparently full of meaning, in reality meaningless.
This success turned his head, and led him astray.
Instead of perceiving that if the Kabbalistic style of
the Zohar is capable of imitation, that book must be
the work of a clever human author, Luzzatto inferred
that his own creative faculty did not proceed from
natural endowments, but, as in the case of the Zohar,
was the product of a higher inspiration. In other
words, he shared the mistaken view of his age with
respect to the origin and value of the Kabbala.
Isaiah Bassan, of Padua — who instructed Luzzatto
in his early years — had infused mystical poison into
his healthy blood. However, any other teacher

236 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

would also have led him into the errors of the Kab-
bala, from which there was no escape. The air cf
the Ghettos was impregnated with Kabbala. From
his youth upwards Luzzatto heard daily that great
adepts in mysticism possessed special tutelar spirits
(Maggid), who every day gave them manifestations
from above. Why should not he, too, be vouchsafed
this divine gift of grace ? Some of the mystical
writings of Lurya, at that time still a rarity, fell into
his hands. He learnt them by heart, became en-
tirely absorbed in them, and thus completed his de-
rangement. Luzzatto was possessed by a peculiar
delusion. His naturally clear and methodical intel-
lect, his fine sense of the simplicity and beauty of
the poetry of the Bible, and his aesthetic conceptions
with regard to Italian and Latin literature urged
him to seek clearness and common sense even in
the chaos of the Kabbala, the divine origin of which
was accepted by him as a fact. He in no way re-
sembled the wild visionaries Moses Zacut and Mor-
decai of Eisenstadt ; he did not content himself with
empty formulas and flourishes, but sought for sound
sense. This he found rather in his own mind than
in the Zohar or in the writings of Lurya. Never-
theless, he lived under the delusion that a divine
spirit had vouchsafed him deep insight into the Kab-
bala, solved its riddles, and disentangled its meshes.
Self-deception was the cause of his errors, and re-
ligious fervor, instead of protecting, only plunged
him in more deeply. His errors were fostered by
the conviction that existing Judaism with its excres-
cences would be unintelligible without the Kabbala,
the theories of which could alone explain the phe-
nomena, the strife, and the contradictions in the
world, and the tragical history of the Jewish people.
Israel — God's people — the noblest portion of crea-
tion, stands enfeebled and abased on the lowest
rung of the ladder of nations ; its religion mis-
judged, its struggles fruitless. To account for this

CH. VII. THE NEW ZOHAR. 237

bewildering fact, Luzzatto constructed a system of
cobwebs.

It flattered the vanity of this young man of twenty
to gain this insight into the relations of the upper
and the lower worlds, to explain them in the mysti-
cal language of the Zohar, and thus become an im-
portant member in the series of created beings.
Having firmly convinced himself of the truth of the
fundamental idea of the Kabbala, he accepted all its
excrescences — transmigration of souls, anagrams,
and necromancy. He wrote reams of Kabbalistic
chimeras, and composed a second Zohar (Zohar
Tinyana) with appropriate introductions (Tikkunim)
and appendices. The more facility he acquired, the
stronger became his delusion that he, too, was
inspired by a great spirit, and was a second, perhaps
more perfect Simon bar Yochai. Little by little
there crept over him in his solitude the fantastic
conviction that he was the pre-ordained Messiah,
called to redeem, by means of the second Zohar, the
souls of Israel and the whole world.

Luzzatto could not long bear to hide his light
under a bushel. He began operations by disclosing
to Israel Marini and Israel Treves, two young men
of the same way of thinking as himself, that his
guardian spirit had bidden him grant them knowl-
edge of his new Zohar. His disciples in the Kab-
bala were dazzled and delighted, and could not keep
the secret. The result was that Venetian Kabbal-
ists sought out the young and wealthy prodigy at
his home in Padua, and thus confirmed him in his
fanaticism. A vivacious, energetic, impetuous Pole,
Yekutiel (Kussiel) of Wilna, who had come to Padua
to study medicine, joined Luzzatto's circle. To hear
of the latter, join him, abandon his former studies,
and devote himself to mysticism was for the Pole a
rapid, easy resolution. It was far harder for him to
keep the secret. No sooner had he been initiated
by Luzzatto than he blazoned forth this new miracle

238 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

to the world. Kussiel circulated extravagant letters
on the subject, which came into the hands of Moses
Chages in Altona. The latter, who had stoutly op-
posed and effectually silenced Chayon and the other
Sabbatian visionaries, was, so to speak, the recog-
nized official zealot, whose utterances were decisive
on matters of faith ; and the rabbi of the so-called
"three communities" of Altona, Hamburg, and
Wandsbeck, Ezekiel Katzenellenbogen, who had
excommunicated Moses Mei'r Kamenker and his
confederates, was subservient to him. Chages
therefore requested the Venetian community to
suppress the newly-born brood of heretics before
the poison of their doctrine could spread further.

The Venetian community, however, was not dis-
posed to denounce Luzzatto as a heretic, but treated
him with great forbearance, probably out of consid-
eration for his youth, talents, and the wealth of his
family, and merely ordered him to justify himself.
The enthusiastic youth rebelled against this demand,
proudly gave Chages to understand that he did not
recognize his authority, repudiated the suspicion
of Sabbatian heresy, and insisted that he had been
vouchsafed revelations from Heaven. He referred
him to his instructor Bassan, who would never refuse
to testify that his orthodoxy was above suspicion.
In this Luzzatto was perfectly right. Bassan was
so infatuated with his pupil that he would have
palliated his most scandalous faults, and encouraged
rather than checked his extravagances. In vain
Chages and Katzenellenbogen threatened him and
the Paduan community with the severest form of
excommunication, if he did not abandon his preten-
sions to second sight and mystical powers. Luz-
zatto remained unmoved : God had chosen him, like
many before, to reveal to him His mysteries. The
other Italian rabbis showed themselves as lukewarm
in the matter as those of Padua and Venice. Moses
Chages called on three rabbis to form a tribunal,

CH. VII. LUZZATTO UNDER SURVEILLANCE. 239

but all three declined to interfere. He exerted him-
self so zealously, however, that he persuaded several
German rabbis (June, 1730) to excommunicate all
who should compose works in the language of the
Zohar in the name of angels or saints. This threat
proved effectual. Isaiah Bassan was obliged to
repair to Padua and obtain a promise from his fav-
orite disciple to discontinue his mystical writings
and his instruction of young Kabbalists, or emigrate
to the Holy Land. At last the Venetian rabbinate
was stirred up to intervene, and sent three repre-
sentatives to Padua — Jacob Belillos, Moses Men-
achem Merari, and Nehemiah Vital Cohen, — in
whose presence Luzzatto was obliged to repeat his
promise under oath. He was compelled to deliver
his Kabbalistic writings to his teacher Bassan, and
they were placed under seal. Thus the storm which
had threatened him was averted.

Luzzatto appears to have been sobered by these
events. He occupied himself with his business,
wrote more poetry, and resolved to marry. He
was a happy father, lived in concord with his parents
and brothers and sisters, and was highly respected.
The evil spirit, however, to whom he had sold him-
self would not release him, and led him back to his
youthful follies. A quarrel in the family and business
misfortunes in connection with his father's house, in
which he was a partner, appear to have been the
cause of this renewal of his former studies. Dis-
quieted and troubled in the present he sought to
learn the future by means of Kabbalistic arts. He
began once more to write down his mystical fancies,
and ventured to show them to Bassan, from whom
he obtained permission to publish them. It was
whispered that Luzzatto performed incantations by
means of magic, and that his teacher had handed
him for publication some of the sealed writings in
his custody. The Venetian council of rabbis, owing
to certain reports, was especially excited and pre-

24O HISTORY OF THE JEWS CH. VII.

judiced against him. Luzzatto had written a sharp
reply to Leon Modena's forcible work against the
Kabbala ; and as the latter was a Venetian rabbi,
though of doubtful sincerity, the members of the
Venetian council, Samuel Aboab and his five col-
leagues, considered any attack upon him an insult to
their own honor. Their esprit de corps roused them
to o-reater activity than had zeal for their faith, when

<Zj *

seemingly in peril. True Venetians, they had in
their service a spy, Salman of Lemberg, who watched
and reported Luzzatto's movements to them. As
long as he was prosperous and surrounded by friends
the Venetian rabbis had treated him with remark-
able indulgence, and bestowed on him a title of
honor ; but after his family fell into misfortune,
when he was on the verge of ruin, and deserted by
his friends and flatterers, their regard for him ceased,
and they could not find enough stones to throw at
him. They believed one of their number who
asserted that he had found implements of magic in
Luzzatto's house. Absurdly enough, too, they re-
proached Luzzatto with having learnt Latin ; to a
man who had studied this language of Satan no
angel, they said, could appear ! The members of
the Venetian council of rabbis believed, or pre-
tended to believe that Luzzatto had boasted that
in the Messianic age his psalms would take the
place of David's psalter. They now showed them-
selves as active as they had previously been negli-
gent in the persecution of the unfortunate author.
They sent three inquisitors to Padua to examine
him, search his house for writings, and make him
declare on oath that he would publish nothing with-
out first submitting it to the censorship of the Vene-
tian council of rabbis. The poet, deeply mortified,
haughtily answered that this council had no author-
ity whatever over him, a member of the community
of Padua. The Venetian rabbis then excommuni-
cated him, and condemned his writings to the flames

O

CII. VII. LUZZATTO EXCOMMUNICATED. 24!

(December, I 734), taking care to give notice of their
proceedings to all the communities in Germany,
particularly to the " big drum, " Chages. The
Paduan community also abandoned the unfortunate
Luzzatto. To the honor of his teacher Isaiah Bassan
be it said, that he adhered to him as staunchly in
misfortune as in prosperity. The rabbi Katzenel-
lenbogen, or rather his crier Chages, on this occasion
made the sensible suggestion that the study of the
Kabbala be altogether forbidden to young men, to
prevent their falling into deplorable errors, as had
hitherto been the case ; but the proposition failed to
meet with the approbation of other rabbis. Twenty
years later the evils produced by the Kabbala
became so patent, that the synod of Polish Jews
enacted a decree to the above effect without encount-
ering opposition.

The unfortunate, excommunicated dreamer was
obliged to leave his parents, his wife and child, and
go forth a wanderer ; but what grieved him even
more was separation from his fellow Kabbalists and
his mystic conventicle. He cherished the hope of
being able to print his Kabbalistic writings in
Amsterdam. Alas for his want of experience !
Who would help him after fortune had turned her
back ! At Frankfort-on-the-Main he was rudely
awakened from his pleasant dream. As soon as
the rabbi, Jacob Kahana, heard of his arrival, he
insisted that he should promise on oath to abandon
his Kabbalistic illusions, and to refrain from writing
on or instructing any one in the doctrines of the
Zohar (January 12, 1735). One liberty, however,
Luzzatto reserved for himself : to pursue his favorite
studies at the age of forty in the Holy Land. Many
rabbis of Germany, Poland, Holland, and Denmark,
who were informed of Luzzatto's concessions, agreed
in advance to his excommunication in case he should
break his word. The name of Chages was of course
upon the list.

242 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

Deeply humiliated and disappointed, Luzzatto
repaired to Amsterdam. Here a gleam of sunlight
smiled on him again. The Portuguese community
received him kindly, as though desirous of atoning
for the injustice he had experienced at the hands of
the Germans and Poles. They granted him a
pension ; and he found a hospitable home in the
house of Moses de Chaves, a wealthy Portuguese,
and became instructor to his son. To be indepen-
dent, he applied himself, like Spinoza, to the polish-
ing of lenses, and this led him to study physics and
mathematics. He found himself so comfortably
settled that he induced not only his wife, but also
his parents to come to Amsterdam, and they were
well received by the Portuguese community. This
favorable turn in his fortunes encouraged him to
resume his chimerical theories. He repeatedly
exhorted his disciples in Padua to remain true to
their Kabbalistic studies ; whereupon the council of
rabbis at Venice, which had received intelligence of
his proceedings, pronounced sentence of excommu-
nication in the synagogues and in the Ghetto against
all who possessed Kabbalistic writings or psalms
of Luzzatto, and failed to deliver them to the
council.

In addition to his various occupations, with the
Kabbala for his spiritual wants and the polishing
of lenses for his temporal needs, Luzzatto pub-
lished a masterpiece second to none in Hebrew
poetry ; a drama, perfect in form, language, and
thought ; a memorial of his gifts calculated to immor-
talize him and the language in which, it is composed.
Under the unpretentious form of an occasional poem
in honor of the wedding of his disciple, Jacob de
Chaves, with the high-born maiden Rachel de Vega
Enriques, he published his drama, " Glory to the
Virtuous" (La-Yesharim Tehilla). It differs materi-
ally from his earlier works. The poet had in the
interval enjoyed various opportunities of gaining

CH. VJl. LA-YESHARIM TEHILLA. 243

pleasant and painful experiences, and of enriching
his mental powers. His muse, grown more mature,
had become acquainted with the intricacies of life.
Luzzatto had learnt to know the vulgar herd well
enough to see that it resembles a reed swaying to
and fro in the water, and is kept by the fetters of
Deceit in a state of ignorance and infirmity against
which Wisdom herself is powerless. He had been
taught by experience how Folly yoked with Igno-
rance makes merry over those born of the Spirit,
and mocks at their labors, when they measure the
paths of the stars, observe the life of the vegetable
world, behold God's works, and account them of
more value than Mammon. Superficiality sees in all
the events of life and of nature, however powerfully
they may appeal to the heart, only the sport of
Chance or the inflexible laws of heartless Necessity.
Luzzatto had proved in his own case that Craft and
Pride closely united can deprive Merit of its crown,
and place it on their own heads. None the less he
cherished the conviction that Merit, though mis-
judged and calumniated, at last wins the day, and
that its acknowledgment (Fame) will fall to its share
like a bride, if only it allows itself to be led by
Reason and her handmaid Patience, averting its
gaze from ignoble strife, and becoming absorbed in
the wonders of Creation. "Could we, with undim-
med eyes, for a moment see the world as it is,
divested of pretense, we should see Pride and Folly,
which speak so scornfully of Virtue and Knowledge,
deeply humbled." Through an extraordinary occur-
rence, a kind of miracle, Truth is revealed, Deceit
unmasked, Pride becomes a laughing-stock, and the
fickle mob is led to recognize true Merit.

c>

Luzzatto in his dramatic parable clothes and
vivifies this train of ideas, and enunciates them in
monologues and dialogues through the mouth of
acting, or, more correctly, speaking characters.
Luzzatto's masterpiece is indeed not a drama in

244 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

the strict sense of the word. The characters repre-
sented are not of flesh and blood, but mere abstrac-
tions : Reason and Folly, Merit and Deceit, are
placed on the stage. The dramatic action is slight.
It is in truth a beautiful wreath of fragrant flowers
of poesy, a series of delightful monologues and
dialogues. In it Luzzatto embodies deep thoughts,
difficult to quicken into life or to paint in poetical
colors ; but he succeeded. The wonderful evolution
of the vegetable world, the extraordinary phenomena
of light, are treated in dramatic verse by Luzzatto
with the same facility as the appropriate subjects
for poetry, and this too in the Hebrew language,
not readily lending itself to new forms of thought,
and with the self-imposed fetters of a meter never
sinned against. His style is dignified, and he
employed a diction quite his own, replete with
youthful charms, beauty, and harmony. Thereby he
supplied a new impulse for the coming age. When
the mists of error passed away, the general chaos
of thought was reduced to some sort of order, and
a happier period opened, young poets derived
inspiration from the soft warm rays diffused by the
genius of Luzzatto. A modern Hebrew poet who
helped to accomplish the transition from the old to
the new period, David Franco Mendes, owes his
inspiration to Luzzatto.

What might not Luzzatto have accomplished if
he could have liberated his mind from the extrava-
gant follies of the Kabbala ! But it held him captive,
and drew him not long after the completion of his
drama (about 1744) to Palestine. Here he hoped
to be able to follow unmolested the inspirations of
his excited fancy, or play the role of a Messiah.
From Safet, too, he continued his communications
with his band of disciples ; but before he could com-
mence operations he fell a victim to the plague, in
the fortieth year of his age. His body was buried in
Tiberias. The two greatest modern Hebrew poets,

CH. VII. LUZZATTO'S FOLLOWERS. 245

Luzzatto and Jehuda Halevi, were to rest in Hebrew
soil. Even the tongues of the slanderous Jews of
Palestine, to whom Luzzatto, with his peculiarities,
must have seemed an enigma, could only speak well
of him after his death. Nevertheless he sowed bad
seed. His Italian followers reintroduced the Kab-
bala into Italy. His Polish disciple, Yekutiel of
Wilna, whose buffooneries had first got him into
trouble, is said to have led an adventurer's life in
Poland and Holland, playing scandalous tricks
under the mask of mysticism. Another Pole, Elijah
Olianow, who belonged to Luzzatto's following, and
proclaimed him as Messiah and himself as his Elijah,
did not enjoy the best of reputations. This man
took part in the disgraceful disorders which broke
out in Altona after Luzzatto's death, and which,
again stirring up the Sabbatian mire, divided the
Jews of Europe into two hostile camps.

The foul pool which for centuries, since the pro-
hibition of free inquiry and the triumph of its enemy
the Kabbala, had been in process of formation in
Judaism was, with perverse stupidity, being contin-
ually stirred up, defiling the pure and the impure.
The irrational excitement roused by the vain, false
Messiah of Smyrna was not suppressed by the pro-
scription of Chayon and the Polish Sabbatians, but
showed a still more ill-favored aspect, forcing its
way into circles hitherto closed against it. The
rabbis, occupied with the practical and dialectical
interpretation of the Talmud, had hitherto refused
admission to the Kabbala on equal terms, and only
here and there had surreptitiously introduced some-
thing from it. They had opposed the Sabbatian
heresy, and pronounced an anathema against it. But
one influential rabbi espoused its cause, invested it
with importance, and so precipitated a conflict which
undermined discipline and order, and blunted still
more the sense of dignity and self-respect, of truth
and rectitude. The occasion of the conflict was the

246 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

petty jealousy of two rabbis. Its true origin lay
deeper, in intellectual perversity and the secret dis-
like on the one hand to the excess of ritualistic ob-
servances, and on the other to the extravagances
of the Kabbala. The authors of this far-reaching
schism — two Polish rabbbis of Altona — each uncon-
sciously had taken a step across the threshold of
orthodoxy. Diametrically opposed to each other in
faculties and temperament, they were suited by their
characters to be pitted against each other. Both
Jonathan Eibeschiitz and Jacob Emden had taken
part in the foregoing conflicts, and eventually gave
these quarrels a more extended influence.

Jonathan Eibeschiitz, or Eibeschiitzer (born at
Cracow 1690, died 1764), was descended from a
Polish family of Kabbalists. His father, Nathan
Nata, was for a short time rabbi of the small Mo-
ravian town of Eibenschitz, from which his son de-
rived his surname. Endowed with a remarkably
acute intellect and a retentive memory, the youthful
Jonathan, early left an orphan, received the irregular
education, or rather bewildering instruction of the
age, which supplied him with only two subjects on
which to exercise his brains — the far-reaching sphere
of the Talmud, with its labyrinthine mazes, and the
ensnaring Kabbala, with its shallows full of hidden
rocks. The one offered abundant food for his
hungry reason, the other for his ill-regulated fancy.
With his hair-splitting ingenuity he might have made
an adroit, pettifogging attorney, qualified to make
out a brilliant and successful justification for the
worst case ; or, had he had access to the higher
mathematics of Newton and Leibnitz, he might have
accomplished much in this field as a discoverer.
Eibeschiitz had some taste for branches of learning
beyond the sphere of the Talmud, and also a certain
vanity that made him desire to excel in them ; but
this he could not satisfy. The perverted spirit of
the Polish and German Jews of the time closed to

CH. VII. JONATHAN EIBESCHUTZ. 247

every aspiring youth the gates of the sciences based
on truth and keen observation, and drove him into
the mazes of Rabbinical and Talmudic literature.
From lack of more wholesome food for his active
intellect, young Eibeschiitz filled his brain with per-
nicious matter, and want of method forced him into
the crooked paths of sophistry. He imagined
indeed, or wished it to be supposed, that he had
acquired every variety of knowledge, but his writings
on subjects not connected with the Talmud, so far
as it is possible to judge of them, his sermons, his
Kabbalistic compositions, and a mass of occasional
papers, reveal nothing that can be described as
wisdom or solid learning. Eibeschiitz was not even
familiar with the Jewish philosophers who wrote in
Hebrew ; he was at home only in the Talmud. This
he could manipulate like soft clay, give it any form
he desired, and he could unravel the most intricately
entangled skeins. He surpassed all his contem-
poraries and predecessors not only in his knowledge
of the Talmud, but also in ready wit.

But Eibeschiitz did not derive complete satisfac-
tion from his scholarship ; it only served to sharpen
his wits, afford him amusement, and dazzle others.
His restless nature and fiery temperament could
not content themselves with this, but aspired to a
higher goal. This goal, however, was unknown
even to himself, or was only dimly shadowed before
his mind. Hence his life and conduct appear enig-
matical and full of contradictions. Had he lived in
the age of the struggle for reform, for the loosening
of the bands of authority, he would have been among
the assailants, and would have employed his Tal-
mudical learning and aggressive wit as levers to
upheave the edifice of Rabbinical Judaism, and op-
pose the Talmud with the weapons it had supplied.
For he was easy-going, and disliked the gloomy
piety of the German and Polish Jews ; and though
impressed by it, he lacked fervor to yield to its in-

248 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

fluence. He therefore found mysticism as inter-
preted by the followers of Sabbatai very comforting :
the Law was to be abolished by the commencement
of the Messianic era, or the spirit of the Kabbala
demanded no over-scrupulousness with regard to
trifles. Nehemiah Chayon appears to have made a
great impression on young Eibeschiitz in Prague or
Hamburg. With the Sabbatian Lobele Prosnitz,
he was in constant, though secret intercourse. He
studied thoroughly the works of Abraham Michael
Cardoso, though they had been publicly condemned
and branded as heretical. Eibeschiitz had adopted
the blasphemous tenets of these and other Sab-
batians — namely, that there is no relation of any
kind between the Most High God, the First Cause,
and the Universe, but that a second person in the
Godhead, the God of Israel, the image and proto-
type of the former, created the world, gave the Law,
chose Israel, in short governs the Finite. He ap-
pears to have embraced also the conclusions deduced
from this heretical theory, that Sabbatai Zevi was
the true Messiah, that the second person of the
Godhead was incorporated in him, and that by his
appearance the Torah had ceased to have any
importance.

But Eibeschiitz had not sufficient strength of
character or determination to act in conformity with
his convictions. It would have been contrary to his
nature to break openly with Rabbinical Judaism, and
by proclaiming himself an anti-Talmudist, as had
been done by several Sabbatians, to wage war
against the whole of Judaism. He was too prac-
tical and loved ease too well to expose himself to
the disagreeable consequences of such a rupture.
Should he, like Chayon, wander forth a fugitive
through Asia and Europe, and back again ? Be-
sides, he loved the Talmud and Rabbinical literature
as food for his wit, and could not do without them.
The contradictions in his career and the disorders

CH. VII. EIBESCHUTZ IN PRAGUE. 249

which he originated may be traced to want of har-
mony between his intellect and his temperament.
Rabbinical Judaism did not altogether suit him, but
the sources from which it was derived were indis-
pensable to him, and had they not been in existence
he would have created them. Fettered by this con-
tradiction he deceived not only the world, but also
himself ; he could not arrive at any clear under-
standing with himself, and was a hypocrite without
intending it.

fj

At one-and-twenty Eibeschlitz directed a school
in Prague, and a band of subtlety-loving Talmud
students gathered round him, hung on his lips, and
admired his stimulating method, and playful way of
dealing with difficulties. He captivated and inspired
his pupils by his genial, one might almost say
student-like, manners, by his sparkling wit, and
scintillating sallies, not always within the bounds of
propriety. His manner towards his pupils was
altogether different from that of rabbis of the ordi-
nary type. He did not slink along gloomily, like a
penitent, and with bowed head, and he imposed no
such restraints on them, but allowed them great
freedom. Social life and lively, interesting conver-
sation were necessities to him. For these reasons
the number of Eibeschutz's disciples yearly in-
creased, and counted by thousands. At thirty he
was regarded not alone in Prague, but far and wide
as an authority.

It has been stated that the council of rabbis of
Frankfort-on-the-Main had clear proofs of Eibe-
schutz's connection with Lobele Prosnitz and the
Podolian Sabbatians. Only his extensive influence
and the great number of his disciples protected him
from being included in the sentence of excommun-
ication pronounced against the others. He had the
hardihood to meet the suspicions against himself
by excommunicating the Sabbatians ( 1 725). Moses
Chages, the man without " respect of persons," the

250 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

" watchman of Zion " of that age, predicted that for-
bearance would prove hurtful. In fact, Eibeschiitz
was at that time deeply committed to the Sabbatian
heresies, confessed the fact to Meir Eisenstadt, the
teacher of his youth, who knew his erring ways, and,
apparently ashamed and repentant, promised
amendment. Thanks to this clemency Eibeschiitz
maintained his reputation, increased by his erudition,
his ever-growing body of disciples, and his activity.
The suspicion of heresy was by degrees forgotten,
and the community of Prague, in recognition of his
merits, appointed him preacher (1728).

In another matter Eibeschiitz left the beaten path,
and placed himself in a somewhat ambiguous light.
Either from vanity or calculation, he entered into
intimate relations with the Jesuits in Prague. He
carried on discussions with them, displaying a cer-
tain sort of liberality, as though he did not share the
prejudices of the Jews. He associated, for instance,
with that spiritual tyrant, Hasselbauer, the Jesuit
bishop of Prague, who frequently made domiciliary
visits among Jews, to search for and confiscate
Hebrew books that had escaped the vigilance of
the censor. Through this intimacy Eibeschiitz
obtained from the bishop the privilege to print the
Talmud, so often proscribed by the Church of Rome.
Did he act thus from self-interest, with the view of
compelling the Bohemian Jews to use only copies
of the Talmud printed by him, and in this way
create a remunerative business, the profits to be
shared with the Jesuits? This was most positively
asserted in many Jewish circles. Eibeschiitz obtained
permission to print from the episcopal board of
censors, on condition that every expression, every
word in the Talmud which, in howsoever small a
degree, appeared to be antagonistic to Christianity
be expunged. He was willing to perpetrate this pro-
cess of mutilation (1728-1739). Such obsequious pli-
ability to the Jesuits excited the displeasure of many

CH. VII. AUSTRIAN WAR OF SUCCESSION. 25 I

Jews. The community of Frankfort-on-the-Main.
spent a considerable sum — Moses Chages and per-
haps David Oppenheim being- at the bottom of the
movement — in their efforts to obtain from the em-
peror a prohibition against the publication of the
Prague edition. Eibeschiitz, on the other hand,
used his connection with Christian circles to avert
perils impending over the Bohemian Jews.

Eibeschiitz's early heretical leanings were not
absolutely forgotten. When the post of rabbi at
Metz became vacant, he applied for it. When the
council were occupied with the election, the gray-
haired widow of the late rabbi appeared at the
meeting, and warned them not to insult the memory
of her dead husband and the pious rabbis who had
preceded him, by appointing a heretic, perhaps
worse (a Mumar), their successor. This solemn
admonition from the venerable matron who was re-
lated to the wife of Eibeschiitz so impressed the
council that his election fell through. Jacob Joshua
Falk was appointed at Metz. He remained there
only a few years, and, on his removal to Frankfort-
on-the-Main, Eibeschiitz was chosen in his place.
Before he entered on his duties, the Austrian War
of Succession broke out, a struggle between youthful,
aspiring Prussia, under Frederick the Great, and
decrepit Austria, under Maria Theresa. A French
army, in conjunction with Prussia and the anti-
emperor Charles VII, occupied Prague. The sys-
tematically brutalized population of Bohemia and
Moravia conceived the false notion that the Jews
were treacherously taking part with the enemy. It
was said that Frederick the Great, the Protestant
heretic, was an especial patron of the Jews. In
Moravia, whither the Prussians had not yet pene-
trated, occurred passionate outbursts of fury against
the Jews. An Austrian field-marshal in Moravia,
under the delusion of the Jews' treachery, issued a
decree that the communities, within six days, should

252 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

"pay down in cash 50,000 Rhenish gulden at Briinn,
failing which, they would all be delivered over to
pillage and the sword." Through the devoted ex-
ertions of Baron de Aguilar and the wealthy rabbi,
Issachar Berush Eskeles — two members of the
Vienna community — this decree was revoked by the
empress, Maria Theresa (March 21). These men
had another opportunity to avert a crushing disaster
from their brethren.

Jonathan Eibeschiitz, having been appointed rabbi
of Metz, either from self-conceit or in order to
secure for himself the post of rabbi in French
Lorraine, imprudently fraternized with the French
soldiery who occupied the town. He obtained from
the French commandant a safe-conduct enabling
him to travel unmolested to France, and thereby
aroused in the Bohemian population the suspicion
that he had a treasonable understanding with the
enemy. After the departure of the French (end of
1 742), the Austrian authorities held an inquiry into
his conduct ; and all his property, which had not
been seized by the Croats, was sequestered. Even-
tually all the Moravian and Bohemian Jews
were suspected of treason. The most Catholic
empress, who was at once good-natured and hard-
hearted, published a decree, December 18, 1744,
for Bohemia, January 2, 1745, for Moravia, that all
Jews in these royal provinces should, "for several
important reasons," within a brief period be ban-
ished ; and that Jews found in these crown lands
after the expiration of this period should be
" removed by force of arms." Terrible severity was
shown in enforcing this decree. The Jews of Prague,
more than 20,630 souls, were obliged in the depth
of winter hurriedly to leave the town and suffer in
the villages ; and the royal cities were forbidden to
harbor them even temporarily. The position of
the Bohemian and Moravian Jews was pitiable.
Whither should they turn ? In the eighteenth cen-

CM. VII. " FAMILIANTEN. 253

tury Jews were not in request or made welcome on
account of their wealth as they had been before.
As though Eibeschiitz felt himself in a measure to

fj

blame for their misfortunes, he took trouble to obtain
relief for them. He preached on their behalf in
Metz, addressed letters to the communities in the
south of France, Bayonne and Bordeaux, asking for
aid, and wrote to the Roman community begging
them to intercede with the pope on behalf of their
unhappy brethren. It was all of but little avail.
More efficacious appears to have been the interces-
sion of De Aguilar, Berush Eskeles, and other Jews
connected with the court of Vienna. The clergy,
too, spoke on their behalf, and the ambassadors of
Holland and England interceded warmly and ur-
gently for them. The empress revoked her severe
decree, and permitted the Jews in both the royal
provinces to remain for an indefinite time (May 15,
1 745). In the case of the Prague community alone,
which was chiefly under suspicion, the strictness of
the decree was not relaxed. Not till some years
later, in consequence of a declaration by the states
of the empire " that their departure would entail a
loss of many millions" was the residence of all
Jews prolonged to ten years, but under degrading
conditions. They were to be diminished rather than
be permitted to increase, their exact number being
fixed. Only the eldest son was permitted to found
a family. Some 20,000 " Familianten," as they were
called, were allowed in Bohemia and 5,100 in Mora-
via, who were obliged to pay annually to the imperial
treasury a sum of about 200,000 gulden. These
restrictions were maintained almost up to the
Revolution of 1848. Jonathan Eibeschiitz rightly
or wrongly was declared a traitor to his country,
and forbidden ever to set foot on Austrian soil.

If, during the first years passed in Metz, he was
so popular that the community would not allow him
to accept the post of rabbi at Fiirth, offered to him,

254 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

he must have made himself disagreeable later on, as
during his difficulties, he could not find supporters
there, nor any witnesses to his innocence. If he
committed only a small portion of the mean actions
with which he was reproached, his life must have
presented a striking contrast to the sermons which
he composed. Eibeschiitz did not feel at home in
Metz ; he missed the bustling, argumentative band
of young admirers, and the wide platform on which
to display his Talmudical erudition. In France
there were fewer students of the Talmud. It was
therefore pardonable that he strenuously exerted
himself to obtain the post of rabbi of the " three
communities " (Hamburg, Altona, and Wandsbeck).
Thanks to the efforts of his connections and
admirers, and his fame as the most distinguished
of Talmudists and miracle workers, the choice fell
on him. As the Jews of the three towns had their
own civil jurisdiction, based on Rabbinical law, they
required an acute rabbi, a lawyer, and they could
not, from this point of view, have made a better
selection.

But an evil spirit seems to have entered Altona
with his instalment, which threw into disorder not
only the three communities, but also the whole of
German and Polish Judaism. Eibeschiitz, though
not free from blame, must not alone be made
answerable. The tendency of the age was culpable,
and Jacob Emden, an unattached rabbi, was more
especially the prime mover in the strife. He desired
to unmask hypocrisy, and in doing so laid bare the
nakedness of his Jewish contemporaries.

Jacob Emden Ashkenazi (abbreviated to Jabez ;
born 1698, died 1 776) resembled his father Chacham
Zevi, as a branch its parent stem ; or rather he made
the father whom he admired extravagantly his model
in everything. The perverted spirit of the age pre-
vented his following his natural bent and inspirations.
A true son of the Talmud, he seriously believed that

CH. VII. JACOB EMDEN. 255

a Jew ought to occupy himself with other branches
of knowledge only during " the hour of twilight,"
and considered it unlawful to read newspapers on
the Sabbath. He, too, was well versed in the
Talmud, and set a high value on the Kabbala and
the Zohar, of the dangerous extravagances of which
he at first knew nothing. Philosophy, although he
possessed no knowledge of it, was an abomination
to him. In his perverseness he maintained it to be
impossible that the philosophical work, " The Guide,"
could have been composed by the orthodox rabbi,
Maimuni. In character he was just, truth-loving,
and staunch, herein forming a sharp contrast to
Jonathan Eibeschiitz. Whatever he considered as
truth or false, he did not hesitate forthwith to defend
or condemn with incisive acuteness ; it was contrary
to his nature to conceal, dissimulate, hide his opinions,
or play the hypocrite. He differed from Eibeschiitz
in another respect. The latter was agreeable, pliant,
careless, cheerful, and sociable ; Emden, on the
contrary, was unsociable, unbending, earnest, melan-
choly, and a lover of solitude. Well-to-do, and
maintaining himself by his business, Emden was
always disinclined to undertake the office of a rabbi.
He was too well aware of his own craving for inde-
pendence, his awkwardness, and impetuosity. Only
once was he induced to accept the office of rabbi, in
Emden (from which he derived his surname) ; but
he relinquished it after a few years on account of
his dislike to the work and from ill-health, and
settled in Altona. He obtained from the king of
Denmark the privilege of establishing a printing-
press ; built a house with a private synagogue, and,
with his family and a few friends, formed a com-
munity within the community. He indeed visited
the exchange, but he lived enwrapped in a dream-
world of his own.

Emden was on the list of candidates for the ap-
pointment of rabbi to the " three communities."

256 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

His few friends worked for him, and urged him to
exert himself to try and obtain the post. He, how-
ever, resisted all their solicitations, and declared
decidedly, that he would not accept the election
even if the choice fell on him, but he was none the
less aggrieved that he obtained only a few votes,
and entertained an unfriendly feeling towards Eibe-
schiitz, because he was preferred. There was
another peculiarity in Emden's character: his anti-
pathy to heretics, tils father Chacham Zevi had
undauntedly pursued Nehemiah Chayon and the
other Sabbatians, and had brought himself into
painful positions by so doing. Emden desired
nothing more ardently than to follow his father, and
would not have shunned martyrdom in the cause.
Since the return of Moses Chages to Palestine, he
considered himself the watchman on behalf of ortho-
doxy among his fellow-believers. He was a Jewish
grand inquisitor, and was in readiness to hurl the
thunders of excommunication whenever heresy, par-
ticularly the Sabbatian, should show itself. The
opportunity of exercising his unpaid office of inquis-
itor, of proving his zeal for orthodoxy, and even of
suffering in its behalf, was granted him by Jonathan
Eibeschiitz.

At the time when Eibeschiitz entered on his
duties as rabbi a painful agitation was prevalent
among the Jews of the " three communities." Within
the year several young women had died in child-
birth. Every wife in expectation of becoming a
mother awaited the approaching hour with increas-
ing anxiety. The coming of the new rabbi, who
should drive away the destroying angel by whom
young women had been selected as victims, was

awaited with ea^er lonmno-. At that time a rabbi

11
was regarded as a protector against every species

of evil (Megin), a sort of magician, and the wives of
Hamburg and Altona expected still greater things
from Jonathan Eibeschiitz, who had been heralded by

CH. VII. EIBESCHUTZS AMULETS. 257

his admirers as the most gifted of rabbis and a worker
of miracles. How would he respond to these exag-
gerated expectations ? Even if he had been honest,
Eibeschiitz would have been forced to resort to
some mystification to assert his authority in his new
office. Therefore, immediately after his arrival, he
prepared talismans — writings for exorcising spirits
(Cameos, Kameoth) — for the terrified women, and
indulged in other forms of magic to impose upon
the credulous. He had distributed similar amulets
in Metz, Frankfort-on-the-Main, and other places.
From Frankfort a rumor had reached Altona that
the talismans of Eibeschiitz were of an altogether
different nature to what they usually were, and that
they were heretical in character. Out of curiosity
one of the amulets distributed by the chief rabbi
Jonathan Eibeschiitz, was opened in Altona, and
was found to contain the following invocation :

" O God of Israel, Thou who dwellest in the adornment of Thy
might [a Kabbalistic allusion], send through the merit of Thy servant
Sabbata'i Zevi healing for this woman, whereby Thy name and the
name of Thy Messiah, Sabbatai' Zevi, may be sanctified in the
world."

It is hard to tell which is more surprising —
Eibeschiitz's stupid belief in and attachment to the
impostor of Smyrna, who had apostatized from
Judaism, or his imprudence in thus exposing himself.
He had indeed altered the words a little, and put
certain letters to represent others ; but he must have
known that the key to his riddle was easy to find.
These attempts at deception naturally did not
remain a secret. The amulets came into the hands
of Emden, who no longer entertained a doubt that
Eibeschtitz still adhered to the Sabbatian heresy.
Though he rejoiced greatly at having found an
opportunity to exercise his office of inquisitor, he in
a measure recoiled from the consequences of doing
so. Was it wise to begin a contest with a man who
had an extensive reputation as the most learned

258 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

Talmudist of his day, as an orthodox rabbi, whose
numerous disciples — over 20,000 it was said — were
rabbis, officials of communities, and holders of
influential posts, who clung to him with admiration,
and were ready to form a phalanx round him and
exert all their energies in his defense ? On the
other hand, the matter could not be suppressed,
it having been discussed in the Jews' quarter and
on exchange. The elders felt obliged to interrogate
Eibeschiitz on the matter, and he replied by a
pitiful evasion. The council, whether believing
Eibeschiitz or not, was bound to lend him a helping
hand in burying the matter. What a disgrace for
the highly respected " three communities," which a
quarter of a century earlier had condemned and
branded the Sabbatians as heretics, that they them-
selves should have chosen a Sabbatian as their
chief rabbi ! Jacob Emden, from whose zeal the
worst was to be dreaded, was partially beguiled by
flatteries, partially intimidated by threats, to refrain
from publishing the affair. But these threats against
him necessarily led to publicity. Emden solemnly
declared in his synagogue that he held the writer of
the amulets to be a Sabbatian heretic who deserved
to be excommunicated, that he did not charge the

O

chief rabbi with their composition, but that the latter
was in duty bound to clear himself from suspicion.
This declaration caused a deep sensation in the
"three communities," and aroused vehement ani-
mosity. The council, and the greater part of the
community, regarded it as a gross piece of presump-
tion and as an encroachment upon their jurisdiction.
The friends of Eibeschiitz, especially his disciples,
fanned the flame. Religious hero-worship was so
prevalent that some did not hesitate to declare that
if their rabbi believed in Sabbata'i Zevi, they would
share his belief. Without putting Emden on trial
the council arbitrarily decreed that no one, under
pain of excommunication, should attend his syna-

CH. VII. CHARGES OF SABBATIANISM. 259

gogue, which was to be closed, and that he should
not publish anything at his printing establishment.
And now began a struggle which at first produced
abundant evil, but which in the end had a purifying
effect. Jonathan Eibeschiitz published the affair
far and wide among his numerous friends and
disciples in Bohemia, Moravia, and Poland, and
painted himself as an innocent man unjustly accused,
and Jacob Emden as an audacious fellow who had
the presumption to brand him as a heretic. He was
hurried along from one untruth to another, from
violence to violence; but he nevertheless had many
partisans to support him. Jacob Emden on the con-
trary stood well-nigh alone, for the few who adhered
to him had not the courage to come forward openly.
He however informed his friends, Eibeschiitz's
enemies, on the same day of what had occurred.
The foolish affair of the amulets thus acquired a
notoriety which it was impossible to check. Every
Jew capable of forming an opinion on the subject
took one side or the other ; the majority adhered
to Eibeschutz. Many indeed could not conceive it
possible that so distinguished a Talmudist could be
a Sabbatian, and the accusation against him was
accounted base slander on the part of the irascible
and malignant Emden. Great ignorance prevailed
with regard to the character and history of the Sab-
batians (or Shabs, as they were termed), for a
quarter of a century had passed since they had
been everywhere excommunicated. Public opinion
was therefore at first in Eibeschiitz's favor.

Eibeschutz thoroughly understood how to win
over opponents to his side, and to soothe them with
illusions. He convened a meeting in the synagogue,
and took a solemn oath that he did not adhere to a
single article of the Sabbatian creed ; if he did,
might fire and brimstone descend on him from
heaven ! He went on to anathematize this sect
with all kinds of maledictions, and excommunicated

260 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

his adversaries who had slandered him, and orig-
inated these elements of strife. This solemn
declaration made a deep impression. Who could
doubt the innocence of a rabbi of such high standing
when he called God to witness respecting it ? The
council of the " three communities" considered itself
fully justified in ordering Emden, as a common
slanderer, to leave Altona. As he refused, and re-
ferred to the charter granted him by the king, he
was cut off from all intercourse with others, pursued
by intrigues, and relentlessly persecuted. This
treatment only aroused Emden to more strenuous
efforts. Letters had meantime been sent from
Metz with other amulets (1751), which Eibeschtitz
had distributed there, and the genuineness of which
he had himself admitted, clearly demonstrating that
he revered Sabbata'i Zevi as the Messiah and saviour.
The Metz amulets were in the main of the same
character : —

" In the name of the God of Israel .... of the God of his
anointed Sabbata'i Zevi, through whose wounds healing is come to us,
who with the breath of His mouth slays the Evil One, I adjure all
spirits and demons not to injure the bearer of this amulet."

A judicial examination of these amulets had been
made by the council of rabbis and elders ; and all
who had any in their possession were commanded
to deliver them up under pain of excommunication.
A royal procurator confirmed their authenticity ;
that is to say, they were proved by the evidence of
witnesses under oath to be the work of Eibeschutz ;
who did not find one person of note in Metz to
maintain his honor. It was some small satisfaction
to Jacob Emden to know that he did not stand
alone in his conflict ; but concurrence in his views
did not profit him much. The members of the
"three communities," with the exception of a small
minority, adhered to Eibeschutz, and made his cause
their own. It was forbidden to speak a slanderous
word against the chief rabbi. Elsewhere his enemies

CH. VII. EMDEN FLEES. 26 1

made plans — he received notice from all quarters as
to what was designed against him — but there was
no definite scheme. His disciples, on the other
hand, were extraordinarily zealous in his behalf.
One of these, Chayim of Lublin, had the courage,
in glorification of Eibeschiitz and in defamation of
his opponents, to excommunicate three of the latter
in his synagogue, Jacob Emden, Nehemiah Reischer,
and an elder in Metz, Moses Mayo, because they
had dared slander " that most perfect man, Jonathan,
in whom God glorified Himself." This decree of
excommunication was distributed throughout Poland
for observance and imitation. The remaining Polish
rabbis agreed with it, either being supporters of
Eibeschiitz, or having been bribed, or being indiffer-
ent in the matter. By way of Konigsberg and
Breslau, for example, large sums were sent to Poland
to commend the case of Eibeschiitz to the rabbis of
that country. Matters did not stop at excommuni-
cations and anathemas ; in Altona (lyar 25=May)
they culminated in a riot. A hand-to-hand fight
took place, and the police had to be called in. In
consequence, Jacob Emden, believing his life to be
endangered through the fury of Eibeschiitz's parti-
sans, fled to Amsterdam on the next day, and was
kindly received there. Emden's wife was ordered
by the council not to part with any of his property,
as an action for damages would be brought against
him.

Eibeschiitz was acute enough to perceive that the
residence of Jacob Emden in Amsterdam might
prove dangerous, as he would have full scope, by
means of his trenchant pen, to expose the rabbi's
past history through the press. To counteract this,
Eibeschiitz issued to his followers in Germany,
Poland, and Italy, an encyclical (Letter of Zeal, Sivan
3, 1 751), in which, under the guise of an exhortation
to bear testimony to his orthodoxy, he besought
them to make his cause their own. He urged them

262 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

to prosecute his adversary with all their energy and
by every possible means : it would be set to their
account as a special merit by the Almighty. It
greatly resembled the command of a popular general
to thousands of his soldiers to attack, and pitilessly
ill-treat defenseless men. To complete the delusion,
he induced two men, devotedly attached to mysti-
cism, but not to truth — Elijah Olianow and Samuel
Essingen — to declare that his amulets contained
nothine dano-erous or heretical, but a great deal of

c^ ^5 *-^

deep orthodox mysticism intelligible only to the few.
Eibeschutz had not yet just grounds for rejoicing.
The excess of insolence of the newly-fledged rabbi
of Lublin in excommunicating gray-haired rabbis
aroused the leading men in the communities. A

<:>

cry of horror resounded from Lorraine to Podolia
at this arrogance, justly suspected to be due to the
instigation of Eibeschutz. Three rabbis at length
combined, Joshua Falk, Leb Heschels, and Heil-
mann, and others joined them. Eibeschutz was
challenged to exculpate himself before a meeting
of rabbis regarding the amulets ascribed to him,
which undeniably were heretical. As was to be
anticipated, Eibeschutz declined to justify himself in
any way, and the confederates took council as to
what further steps to take against him. The
scandal continued to increase. The newspapers
reported the quarrel amongst the Jews regarding
the rabbi of Altona. Christians naturally could not
comprehend the nature of the dispute. It was said
that a vehement controversy had arisen amongst
the Jews as to whether the Messiah had or had not
already appeared. The Jews were derided, because
they preferred to believe in the impostor Sabbata'i
Zevi, rather than in Jesus. This reacted on the
Jews, and the two parties imputed to each other
the offense of this scandal, this "profanation of
God's name." An energetic man, Baruch Yavan, of
Poland, transferred the schism to that country. He

CH. VII. EIBESCHUTZ IN DIFFICULTIES. 263

was a disciple of Falk, agent to the notorious Saxon
minister Bruhl, and enjoyed considerable reputation
in Poland. Through his intrigues, a Polish magnate
deprived Chayim Lublin of his office as rabbi, and
ordered him and his father to be thrown into prison
(Elul=September, 1751). In Poland the contro-
versy assumed an ugly character — bribery, informa-
tion through spies, acts of violence, and treachery
being- amono- its leading features. Seceders from

^> fj <->

each party betrayed the secrets of one to the other.
Every fair and every synod were battlefields, where
the partisans of Eibeschiitz and Falk contended.
The proceedings at the synods were more disorderly
than those in the Polish Reichstag. When the de-
fenders of either side proved more numerous or
more energetic, the weaker party was excommun-
icated. The supporters of Eibeschiitz were in the
main more active. Count Briihl made them as many
empty promises of protection, as he bestowed on
their opponents through Baruch Yavan.

In Germany, naturally, matters were conducted
with more moderation. The triumvirate of rabbis
published a decision to the effect that the writer
of the Sabbatian amulets should be cut off from
communion with Israel. Every devout Jew lay
under obligation to persecute him to the utmost
of his power. No one might study the Talmud
under his guidance. All who supported his cause
were to be excommunicated. No mention was
made of Eibeschiitz's name. Many German rabbis
concurred in this moderate decision, as also the
Venetian rabbis who had excommunicated Luzzatto.
The resolution was delivered to Eibeschiitz and the
council of the " three communities " (February,
1752), and notice was given to Eibeschiitz that
within two months he must clear himself'before a rab-
binical court of arbitration of the suspicion that he
was the author of heretical amulets, failing which his
name would be publicly stigmatized. This sentence

264 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

of excommunication was to be printed by the
Venetian council of rabbis, and published throughout
the East and Africa. But Eibeschiitz understood
how to meet this blow craftily. The Italian rabbis
were, for the most part, reluctant to burn their
fingers in this violent quarrel, and declined to par-
ticipate in any way. The council of rabbis at Leg-
horn, especially Malachi Cohen, the last of the Ital-
ian rabbinical authorities, inclined towards the side
of Eibeschiitz. The Portuguese in Amsterdam and
London designedly kept themselves aloof from this
domestic squabble among the Germans and Poles.
One broker of Amsterdam, David Pinto, alone
espoused Eibeschiitz's cause, and threatened Emden
with his anger if he continued his hostility. The
council of rabbis in Constantinople, dazzled by
Eibeschiitz's illustrious name, or in some way de-
ceived, declared decidedly for him, but would not
pronounce a direct sentence of excommunication
against his antagonists. What they neglected was
done by a so-called envoy from Jerusalem, Abraham
Israel, a presumptuous mendicant, who as a repre-
sentative of the Holy Land and the Jewish nation,
imprecated and anathematized all who should utter
a slanderous word against Eibeschiitz. Thus almost
the whole of Israel was excommunicated ; on the
one side those who showed enmity towards the
illustrious chief rabbi of the " three communities,"
and on the other those who supported that heretic.
Thus the effects of excommunication were nullified,
or rather it became ridiculous, and with it a phase
of rabbinical Judaism disappeared.

A new turn was given this disagreeable con-
troversy when it was transferred from its home to
the law courts of the Christians. The fanaticism
of Eibeschiitz's followers was more to blame than
the conduct of their opponents. One of the elders
of Altona, who had so far remained true to the
cause of the persecutors, in a letter to his brother

CH. VII. GOVERNMENTAL INTERFERENCE. 265

showed himself somewhat doubtful of its justice.
This letter was opened by the followers of Eibe-
schiitz, and the writer was set down as a traitor,
expelled from the council, ill-treated, and threatened
with banishment from Altona. There remained no
alternative for him but to address himself to the
government of Holstein, to the king of Denmark,
Frederick V, and unsparingly expose all the illegali-
ties, meannesses, and violence of which Eibeschiitz
and his party had been guilty. The injustice of the
council towards Jacob Emden and his wife was
discussed in connection with the affair. An authenti-
cated copy of the suspected amulets was translated
into German. The trial was conducted with extreme
bitterness ; both parties spared no expense. The
plaintiff and his faction in their anger did not confine
themselves to necessary statements, but treacher-
ously stigmatized as a crime much that was of an
innocent nature. King Frederick, who loved justice,
and his minister Bernstorff, gave judgment against
the followers of Eibeschiitz (June 3, 1752). The
council of Altona was severely censured for its illegal
and harsh treatment of Jacob Emden, and punished
with a fine of 100 thalers. Emden was not only per-
mitted to return to Altona, but the use of his syna-
gogue and his printing establishment was restored.
Eibeschiitz was deprived of authority as rabbi of the
Hamburg community, and ordered to clear himself
with regard to the incriminating amulets, and to
answer fifteen questions) propounded to him. Events
thus took an unfortunate turn for him. Even the
well-intentioned letter of a partisan sent from Poland
served to show how desperate his case was. Ezekiel
Landau (born 1720, died 1793) as a young man had
aroused hopes that he would become a second
Jonathan Eibeschiitz in rabbinical learning and
sagacity. His opinion as rabbi of Jampol (Podolia)
carried great weight. Landau wrote with youthful
simplicity and straightforwardness to Eibeschiitz

266 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

that the amulets which he had seen were without
doubt Sabbatian and heretical. He, therefore, could
not believe that the honored and devout rabbi of
Altona had written them. For that reason he was
as much in favor of condemning the amulets, as of
upholding Jonathan Eibeschutz and declaring war
against his adversaries. He entreated Eibeschutz
to condemn the amulets as heretical, and when
occasion offered clear himself from the accusation
that he was the author of the slanderous writings,
full of unworthy expressions about God, and to
condemn them leaf by leaf. This was a severe
blow from the hand of a friend. As Eibeschutz
had acknowledged the amulets to be genuine, and
had only sophistically explained away their heresy,
he was now in evil case. A follower of Emden's
in addition published the correspondence and decis-
ions of Eibeschutz's enemies, which stigmatized his
conduct, together with an account of the amulets
and their true interpretation ("The Language of
Truth," printed August, 1752). Emden himself
published the history of the false Messiah, Sabbata'i
Zevi, and the visionaries and knaves who had suc-
ceeded him, down to Chayon and Luzzatto, vividly
describing the errors and disorderly excesses of
the Sabbatians for his own generation, which was
careless with regard to historical events, and had
but scanty, confused knowledge on the subject.
Thus it was made clear to many that the Sabbatian
heresy aimed at nothing less than the dethronement
of the God of Israel in favor of a phantom, and
the dissolution of Judaism by means of Kabbal-
istic chimeras. But the worst that befell Eibeschutz
was that Emden himself returned unmolested to
Altona, and had the prospect of being indemnified
for his losses.

The danger in which Eibeschutz found himself of
being unmasked as a heretic in the courts of law,
and before the eyes of the world, determined him to

CH. VII. EIBESCHUTZ DEFENDED. 267

a step which a rabbi of the old stamp of honest
piety, even under peril of death, would not have
taken. He associated himself with an apostate
baptized Jew, formerly his pupil, in order to obtain
assistance from him in his difficulties. Moses Ger-
son Cohen, of Mitau, who, on his mother's side,
was descended from Chayim Vital Calabrese, had
studied the Talmud under Eibeschiitz in Prague for
seven years, then traveled in the East, and, after
his return to Europe, had been baptized in Wolfen-
biittel under the name Charles Anton. He was ap-
pointed by his patron, the duke of Brunswick,
Reader in Hebrew in Helmstadt. It was after-
wards proved that this convert had become a Chris-
tian solely from self-interest.

To him the chief rabbi of the " three communi-
ties " secretly repaired in order to induce him to
compose a vindication, or rather a panegyric, of his
conduct. It is evident on the face of it, even at the
present day, that the work was written "to order,"
and it transpired that Eibeschiitz had dictated it to
Charles Anton. He is extolled as the most sas^a-

^j

cious and upright Jew of his time, as a man versed
in philosophy, history, and mathematics, and as a
persecuted victim. Jacob Emden, on the other
hand, is represented as an incompetent, envious fel-
low. Anton dedicated this work to the kingr of

^^

Denmark, and commended to him the case of the
alleged innocent and persecuted man. This work,
with another cunningly chosen expedient, had favor-
able results for Eibeschiitz. He had screened him-
self not only behind a baptized Jew, but behind a
princess. King Frederick V had married, as his
second wife, a princess of Brunswick, Maria Juliana,
and a Jewish agent — a partisan of Eibeschiitz — did
business at the court of Brunswick. The latter
made the most of his direct and indirect influence
with the young Danish princess, and said a good
word to her on behalf of the chief rabbi under accu-

268 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

sation of heresy. With the comment that the ma-
jority of rabbis except some litigious, malevolent in-
dividuals sided with Eibeschutz — proof of the justice
of his cause — the court suppressed the amulet case.
A royal decree, forbidding the continuation of this
controversy, was read aloud in the Altona syna-
gogue (February 7, 1753). At the suggestion of
the government the vote of the community with re-
gard to Eibeschiitz was again taken, and resulted in
his favor. He then took the oath of fealty to the
king, and his position was more assured than ever.
His sagacity had a second time gained the day, but
his success was only transitory. The number of his
enemies had materially increased even in Altona
through the far-reaching dissensions and the better
knowledge of his character gleaned little by little.
His adversaries did not allow themselves to be
silenced by the king's arbitrary decision without
making another effort; and the rabbinical trium-
virate urged them to petition for a revision of the
heresy proceedings against Eibeschiitz, and try to
convince the king that the assertion that the major-
ity of the rabbis were his partisans was entirely
false, that, on the contrary, he was supported only
by his relatives and disciples. The three rabbis
and the rabbi of Hanover laid before the council a
demand to consider Eibeschiitz as excommunicated,
and forbid him to exercise any rabbinical function
until he repented of his heresy, and promised
amendment. Hostile writings by Emden and
others fed the fire of dissension; they were writ-
ten in vehement, pitiless language and were full
of petty gossip. To calm the public wrath, the Al-
tona council with great difficulty induced Eibeschutz
to make a binding declaration that he was prepared
of his own free-will to justify himself before an im-
partial rabbinical court of arbitration, and submit to
its decision (beginning of 1 753). This only inflamed
the strife. Eibeschutz proposed as his judges

CH. VII. EIBESCHUTZ ACCUSED. 269

two rabbis, of Lissa and Glogau, men but little
known, who were to add a third to their number.
But the opposite party insisted that the court be
composed of Joshua Falk and his colleagues. This
angered Eibeschiitz, who lost the calmness of mind
he had hitherto maintained. At one time he desir-
ed to submit his cause to the rabbis of Constantino-
ple, at another he proposed the Synod of the Four
Polish Countries, to meet in Jaroslav late in the
summer of 1753. He appears to have reckoned on
obtaining a favorable sentence from this assemblage
of many rabbis and influential persons. Relying on
this, he believed that he could easily free himself
from the compact forced upon him, of submitting to
arbitration. He is said to have managed this by
giving information at court that the royal preroga-
tive had been encroached upon by this proposed
appeal from the judgment of the sovereign to that
of the rabbis. Both parties were therefore fined by
the magistrates. This only increased his enemies,
and several of his warmest supporters, former mem-
bers of the communal council, renounced him, and
proclaimed him, not only a heretic, but an intriguer.
These opponents complained once more to the king
with regard to the prevalent dissensions in the com-
munity, of which he was the cause. They could
not, they said, obtain impartial judgment from him
in their lawsuits, because he allowed himself to be
guided in his decisions by spite and passion. The
justice-loving king gave these complaints his atten-
tion. He desired to arrive at a definite conclusion
with regard to the case, whether Eibeschiitz was an
arch-heretic, as his opponents maintained, or a per-
secuted innocent, as he described himself.

With this in view the king ordered certain Chris-
tian professors and theologians versed in Hebrew,
to give him their opinion with regard to the amulets.
Eibeschiitz felt uneasy at the turn affairs had taken;
he feared that the matter might prove disastrous to

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

him. To place himself in a favorable light he re-
solved on a course which he had hitherto hesitated
to adopt — to dispose public opinion in his favor
through the press. As things then stood, there was
no other course open to him, and he therefore com-
posed a defense — " The Tables of Testimony," com-
pleted Tammuz 18, end of June, 1755, the first pro-
duction of his pen. As might have been expected
from a man of his ability, it is skillfully worked out ;
and he places his case in a favorable light. But
Eibeschiitz was unable to convince either his im-
partial contemporaries or posterity of his innocence.
On the contrary, his vindication, and much of the
evidence adduced, clearly betray his guilt. Emden
and his disciple David Cans did not fail to publish
refutations, drawing attention to weak points, and
throwing doubt on the testimony in favor of
Eibeschiitz.

A publication by a professor and pastor, David
Frederick Megerlin, early in 1756, made a fresh
diversion, apparently in Eibeschiitz's favor, with
respect to this vexed question. This confused
babbler and proselytizer, induced by the order of
the Danish king to pronounce an opinion upon the
matter, imagined that he had discovered the key to
the enigmatical amulets of Eibeschiitz, the disputed
characters which his opponents explained as refer-
ring to Sabbatai Zevi being nothing less than a mys-
tic allusion to Jesus Christ ! The chief rabbi of Al-
tona and Hamburg was at heart attached to the
Christian faith, Megerlin maintained, but dared not
come out openly through fear of the Jews. He
himself, it is true, and his disciple, Charles Anton,
had explained these amulets in quite another way,
not in a Christian sense ; but the latter had not
comprehended the deeper meaning, and Eibeschiitz
had composed his vindication only for Polish Jews.
In his heart of hearts the chief rabbi was a true be-
liever in Christianity. Megerlin, therefore, called

CH. VII. DAVID FREDERICK MEGERLIN. 2/1

on the king of Denmark to protect Eibeschiatz
against the persecutions of the Jews, especially
against the calumnies of Jacob Emden, who hated
and persecuted the Christians, as his father had
persecuted Chayon, also a secret Christian. In his
folly Megerlin exhorted Eibeschiitz most earnestly
to throw off his mask, resign the post of rabbi of the
" three communities," and allow himself to be bap-
tized. He also addressed a circular letter to the
Jews, urging them to arrange a general convention
of rabbis and openly glorify Christianity. Had
Eibeschiitz possessed a spark of honor he would
have repudiated, even at the risk of losing the king's
favor, his supposed adherence to Christianity. But
he did not take the smallest step to answer the
charge of hypocrisy ; he was content to profit by it.
Megerlin's arguments, foolish as they were, con-
vinced King Frederick. He revoked the suspension
from office with which Eibeschiitz was threatened,
and decreed that the Jews of the Altona community
should show him obedience. The Hamburg senate,
also, ao"ain acknowledged him as rabbi of the Ger-

c> o

man community. Eibeschiitz exulted, and his ad-
mirers prepared a solemn triumph for him
(Chanukkah — middle of December, 1756). His dis-
ciples, clad as knights, marched through the streets
shouting, till they reached the rabbi's house, where
they arranged a dancing-party. The six years of
strife which had aroused every evil passion among
the Jews, from Lorraine to Podolia, and from the
Elbe to the Po, ended apparently in a dance. But
at the same time Eibeschiitz in another direction
suffered defeat, which branded him in the eyes of
those who had hitherto spoken favorably of him and
supported him.

Facts flatly contradicted his assertion, put forward
through his mouthpiece, Charles Anton, that " there
were no longer any Sabbatians." They raised their
serpent heads and shot forth their tongues full of

2-2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

poisonous rage at this very moment. The seed
which Chayim Malach had scattered in Poland was
by no means checked in growth by the anathemas
of the rabbis. They had only forced the Sabbatians
to disguise themselves better, and to counterfeit
death ;&but they flourished secretly, and their follow-
ing increased. Some towns in Podolia and Pakotia
were full of Talmudists who, in Sabbatian fashion,
scoffed at the Talmud, rejected the law of Judaism,
and, under the mask of ascetic discipline, lived im-
pure lives. The disorders to which the dispute
regarding Eibeschiitz had given rise in Poland en-
couraged the Polish Sabbatians to venture from
their hiding-places and raise their masks a little.
The time seemed favorable for an attempt to cast
aside odious religious rites, and openly to come for-
ward as anti-Talmudists. They needed a spirited
leader to gather the scattered band, give it cohesion,
and mark out a line of action. This leader now
presented himself, and with his appearance began a
new movement which threw the whole Jewish world
of Poland into intense agitation and despair. This
leader was the notorious Jacob Frank.

Jankiev Lejbovicz (that is, Jacob son of Leb) of
Galicia, was one of the worst, most subtle, and most
deceitful rascals of the eighteenth century. He
could cheat the most sagacious, and veil his frauds
so cleverly that after his death many still believed
him an admirable man, who bore through life, and
carried to the grave, most weighty secrets. He
understood the art of deception even in his youth,
and boasted how he had duped his own father.
As a young man he traveled in Turkey in the service
of a Jewish gentleman, and in Salonica entered into
relations with the Sabbatians or Jewish Moslems
there. If he did not learn from them how to work
deceptive and mystifying miracles, he at all events
learnt indifference towards all forms of religion.
He became a Mahometan, as afterwards a Cath-

CH. VII. JACOB FRANK. 2/3

olic, for so long as it served his purpose, and
changed his religion as one changes one's clothes.
From his long sojourn in Turkey he acquired the
name of Frank, or Frenk. Ignorant of Talmudical
literature, as he himself confessed, he was acquainted
with the Zoharist Kabbala, explained it to suit his
purpose, and took peculiar pleasure in the doctrine
of metempsychosis, by virtue of which the successive
Messiahs were not visionaries or impostors, but the
embodiment of one and the same Messianic soul.
King David, Elijah, Jesus, Mahomet, Sabbatai Zevi,
and his imitators, down to Berachya, were one and
the same personality, which had assumed different
bodily forms. Why should not he himself be another
incarnation of the Messiah ? Although Jacob Frank,
or Lejbovicz, loved money dearly, he accounted it
only a lever by which to raise himself; he wished to
play a brilliant part and surround himself with a
mysterious halo. Circumstances were exceptionally
favorable to him. He married in Nicopolis
(Turkey) a very beautiful wife, through whom he
attracted followers. He collected by degrees a
small number of Turkish and Wallachian Jews, who
shared his loose principles, and held him to be a
superior being — the latest embodiment of the Mes-
siah. He could not, however, carry on his mischiev-
ous schemes in Turkey, where he was persecuted.
Frank appears to have obtained intelligence of
the schism in Poland caused by the Eibeschiitz con-
troversy, and thought that he might utilize the
propitious moment to gather round him the Sab-
batians of Podolia, and play a part among them, and
by means of them. He came suddenly amongst them,
visiting many towns of Podolia and the Lemberg dis-
trict, where secret Sabbatians resided, with whom he
may have been in communication previously. They
fell, so to speak, into his arms. Frank needed follow-
ers, and they were seeking a leader. Nowthcy found
one who had come to them with a full purse, of the

274 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

contents of which he was not sparing. In a trice
he won the Sabbatians of Podolia. Frank disclosed
himself to them as the successor of Sabbata'i, or,
what was the same thing, as the new-born soul of
the Sabbatian chief Berachya. What this manifes-
tation signified was known to the initiated. They
understood by it the blasphemous and at the same
time absurd theory of a kind of Trinity, consisting of
the Holy and Most Ancient One, the Holy King,
and a female person in the Godhead. Frank, like
his predecessors, attributed the chief importance to
the Holy King, at once the Messiah and God incar-
nate, and possessed of all power on earth and in
heaven. Frank ordered his followers to address
him as the Holy Lord. In virtue of his partici-
pation in the Godhead, the Messiah was able to do
all things, even miracles, and Frank did perform mira-
cles, as his followers maintained. The adherents
whom he brought in his train, and whom he gathered
round him in Poland, believed so strongly in his
divine nature that they addressed to him mystic
prayers in the language of the Zohar, with the same
formulas that the Donmah of Salonica were wont to
address to Jacob Querido and Berachya. In short,
Frank formed a sect from the Sabbatians of Podolia,
called by his name, " Frankists." Their founder
taught his disciples to acquire riches for themselves,
even by fraudulent and dishonest means. Deceit
was nothing more than skillful artifice. Their chief
task was to undermine rabbinical Judaism, and to
oppose and annihilate the Talmud. This task they
undertook with a passion which perhaps owed its
origin to the constraints imposed upon them through
fear of persecution. The Frankists opposed the
Zohar to the Talmud, and Simon bar Yochai, its
alleged author, to the other authorities of the
Talmud, as though in earlier times the former had
combated the latter and accused them of being the
falsifiers of Judaism. The true teaching of Moses

CH. VII. THE FRANKISTS.

275

was said to be contained only in the Zohar, which
had declared the whole of rabbinical Judaism to be
on a lower level — a fact which blundering Kabbalists
had so long overlooked. The Frankists, more clear-
sighted, had discovered the half-concealed secret of
the Zohar. They rightly called themselves anti-
Talmudists as well as Zoharites. With a certain
childish frowardness they did exactly those things
which rabbinical Judaism strongly prohibited, and
neglected those which the latter prescribed, not
only in points of ritual, but also with regard to
marriage and the laws of chastity. Among these
anti-Talmudic Frankists were found rabbis and so-
called preachers (Darshanim, Maggidim), Jehuda
Leb Krysa, rabbi of Nadvorna, and Rabbi Nachman
ben Samuel Levi of Busk. Of especial reputation
among Polish Sabbatians was Elisha Schor of
Rohatyn, an aged man, descended from distin-
guished Polish rabbis. He, his sons, his daughter
Chaya (who knew the Zohar by heart, and was con-
sidered a prophetess), his grandson, and sons-in-law
were from an early period thoroughgoing Sabba-
tians, to whom it was a positive pleasure to deride
rabbinical precepts.

During the first months after his return to
Poland, Frank held secret conferences with the
anti-Talmudists of Podolia, as a public demon-
stration was attended with danger. One day,
he with about twenty of his followers was sur-
prised in Laskorun in a conventicle. The Frank-
ists declared that they had been singing psalms
in the Zohar language, while their adversaries
asserted that they had been performing an indecent
dance around a half-naked woman, and kissing her.
Many gathered about the inn to force their way in ;
others ran to the police to give information that a
Turk had stolen into Podolia to pervert the Jews
to the Mahometan religion and make them emigrate
to Turkey, and that those who had joined him were

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

leading an Adamite, that is to say dissolute, life. The
police immediately interposed, broke open the
barricaded doors, and expelled the Frankists.
Frank was dismissed next day as a foreigner, and
repaired to the neighboring Turkish territory ; and
the Podolian Frankists were kept in custody. The
incident made a sensation, and was perhaps inten-
tionally exaggerated. Like wild-fire the news con-
cerning the Sabbatians spread. It can be imagined
what this defiance of Rabbinical Judaism meant in
those days, especially in Poland, where the most
insignificant religious rites were sedulously observed.
It was now discovered that, in the midst of the
excessive piety which characterized the Poles, a
number of persons, brought up in the knowledge of
the Talmud, scoffed at the whole system of Rabbin-
ical Judaism. The rabbis and elders forthwith
began to employ the usual weapons of excommuni-
cation and persecution against the offenders, and
the secret heretics were hunted out. Won over
by large sums, the Polish authorities energetically
supported the persecutors. Those in distress showed
signs of repentance, and made public confession of
their misdeeds, which, be they accurate or exagger-
ated, present a sad picture of the deterioration of
the Polish Jews. Before the council of rabbis in
Satanov, in open court, several men and women
stated that they and their friends had not only treated
the rites of Judaism with contempt, but had aban-
doned themselves to fornication, adultery, incest,
and other iniquities, and had done so in accordance
with Kabbalistic-mystic teachings. The penitents
declared that Frank had taught his followers to
scoff at chastity.

In consequence of this evidence a solemn sentence
of excommunication, during the reading of which
tapers were extinguished, was pronounced in Brody
against the Frankists: no one might intermarry
with them, their sons and daughters were to be

CH. VII. EXCOMMUNICATION OF SABBATIANS.

treated as bastards, and none who were even
suspected could be admitted to the post of rabbi, to
any religious office, or to the profession of teacher.
Every one was in duty bound to denounce and
unmask the secret Sabbatians. This excom-
munication was repeated in several communities,
and finally ratified by a great synod in Konstan-
tinov on the Jewish New Year (September, 1756).
The document was printed, distributed, and
ordered to be read aloud every month in the syna-
gogues for observance. This sentence of excom-
munication contained one point of great importance.
No one under thirty years of age was to be permitted
to study the Kabbala. Necessity at length opened
the eyes of the rabbis to the recognition of the
impure spring, which since the time of Lurya had
poisoned the sap of the tree of Judaism. More
than four centuries had passed since philosophical
inquiry had been forbidden, and the young Kabbala
encouraged. In their blindness, the rabbis had
imagined that they were strengthening Judaism in
placing folly on the throne of wisdom. This course
produced that book of lies, the Zohar, which impu-
dently set itself above the Holy Writings and the
Talmud. Finally, the delusions of the Kabbala
declared a life and death war against rabbinical
Judaism. Such were the fruits of blindness. The
members of the synod of Konstantinov turned in
their perplexity to Jacob Emden, who, since his
controversy with Eibeschiitz, was accounted the
representative of sound orthodoxy. He, too, enjoyed
a triumph, though of an altogether different kind
from the one his antagonist was at the same time cel-
ebrating in the midst of his noisy admirers. The Polish
Jews at last began to be aware that secular knowledge
and cultivated eloquence are after all not altogether
objectionable, since they can render assistance to
Judaism. They were desirous that a cultured Por-
tuguese should come to Poland, endowed with

278

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH.

knowledge and readiness of speech, who would
represent them before the Polish magistracy and
clergy, in order to suppress the dangerous Frankist

sect.

"Jacob Emden, deeply affected by the despairing
appeal of his Polish brethren, came to a conclusion
of great importance for succeeding ages. Sabba-
tians of all shades appealed to the Zohar as a sacred
authority, as the Bible of a new revelation, excusing
all their blasphemies and indecencies by quotations
from it. What if the Zohar should prove not to be
genuine, but only a supposititious work? And
this was the conclusion to which Emden came.
The repulsive incidents in Poland first suggested
the inquiry to him, and it became clear to him that
at least a portion of the Zohar was the production
of an impostor.

To the question whether it would be lawful to
persecute the Frankists, Jacob Emden answered
emphatically in the affirmative. He held them,
according to the accounts received from Poland,
to be shameless transgressors of the most sacred
laws of decency and chastity, turning vice into
virtue by means of mystical jugglery. No per-
suasion, however, was required from him ; when
persecution became necessary in Poland the will to
inflict it was never wanting. The Frankists were
denounced to the magistracy and clergy as a new
sect, and handed over to the Catholic Inquisition,
and the bishop of Kamieniec, Nicolas Dembowski,
in whose diocese they were apprehended, had no
objection to erect a stake. Frank was cunning
enough to avert from his followers the blow aimed
at them and to direct it against their enemies.
From Chocim, where after a brief imprisonment he
had settled in safety, he counseled them to emphasize
two points in their defense : that they believed in a
Trinity, and that they rejected the Talmud as a
compilation full of error and blasphemy. His coun-

CH. VII. THE BLOOD-ACCUSATION. 279

sel meeting with opposition, he secretly assembled
some of his followers in a small town in Poland, and
reiterated his advice, with the addition that twenty
or thirty of them must quickly be baptized to give
more emphasis to their assertions that they acknowl-
edged the Trinity and rejected the Talmud. To
Frank change of religion was a small matter. The
Talmud Jews of the district heard of Frank's secret
conference with his confederates, collected a band,
attacked them, and after using them roughly pliced
them in confinement. This proceeding provoked
the anti-Talmudists to revenge. They would not,
indeed, be baptized, but they declared before the
tribunal of Bishop Dembowski that they were
almost Christians, that they believed in a Divine
Trinity, that the rest of the Jews, who repudiated
this doctrine, did not hold the true faith, and perse-
cuted them on account of their superiority. To
make their breach with Judaism unmistakable, or to
revenge themselves in a very sanguinary way, they
made false accusations, namely, that believers in the
Talmud make use of the blood of Christians, and
that the Talmud inculcates the murder of Christians
as a sacred duty. There was no difficulty in trump-
ing up evidence in favor of the accusation. It was
only necessary that some Christian child should be
missing. Something of the kind must have occurred
in Jampol in Podolia (April, 1756), and immediately
the most respected Jews of the town were placed
in chains, and the other communities menaced.
Bishop Dembowski and his chapter, rejoiced at
their good luck, favored the Frankists in every way
in return for their false evidence, freed them from
prison, protected them from persecution, allowed
them to settle in the diocese of Kamieniec, permitted
them to live as they pleased, and were delighted to
foster their hatred of the Talmud Jews. The bishop
flattered himself that, through the Frankists, among
whom were several rabbis, he would be able to con-

28o HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

vert many Polish Jews to Catholicism. The new
sect passed into the state in which the persecuted
becomes the persecutor.

In order to drive their adversaries to desperation^
the Frankists (1757) petitioned Bishop Dembowski
to arrange a disputation between themselves and
the Talmudists, and bound themselves to prove both
the doctrine of the Trinity and the harmful nature
of the Talmud, from the Scriptures and the Zohar.
To this the bishop willingly consented. One of the
Frankist rabbis — perhaps old Elisha Schor, ^ of
Rohatyn — composed a confession of faith, which,
almost unequaled for audacity and untruthfulness,
is so artful in its explanation of Sabbatian-Kabbal-
istic doctrines as to have led the bishop to suppose
that they were in consonance with the Catholic faith,
and to drive their adversaries into a corner. The
Frankist confession of faith contains nine articles.
The religion revealed by God to man contains so
many deep mysteries, that it must be thoroughly
searched out and examined ; without higher inspira-
tion, however, it cannot be understood. One of
these mysteries is that the Godhead consists of
three Persons, equal to one another, at once a
Trinity and a Unity. Another mystery is that the
Godhead assumes human form to manifest itself
visibly to all men. Through the mediation of these
deities incarnate, mankind is redeemed and saved—
not through the Messiah expected to assemble the
Jews and lead them back to Jerusalem. The latter
is a false belief: Jerusalem and the Temple will
never be rebuilt. The Talmud, indeed, interprets
revealed faith otherwise ; but its interpretation is
baneful, and has led its adherents into error and
unbelief. The Talmud contains most revolting
statements ; such as that Jews are permitted, indeed,
obliged, to deceive and slay Christians. The Zohar,
which is diametrically opposed to the Talmud, offers
the only true and correct interpretation of the Holy

CH. VII. THE KAMIENIEC DISPUTATION. 28l

Writings. All these absurd statements, the Frank-
ist confession of faith supported by passages from
the Bible and the Zohar ; and to vilify the Talmud,
passages in it were intentionally misrepresented.
The creed was printed and published in the Hebrew
and the Polish language. The representatives of
the Polish community — the Synod of the Four
Countries — were painfully sensible, in their desperate
situation, of the want of education prevalent among
them. They could not produce a single man who
could expose the imposture of the Frankists and
the hollowness of their creed in well-turned or even
tolerable language. The proud leaders of the
Synod behaved like children in their anxiety. They
helplessly devised extravagant schemes, wished to
appeal to the pope, and to incite the Portuguese in
Amsterdam and Rome to protect them from the
machinations of their vindictive enemies.

Bishop Dembowski consented to the proposition
of the Frankists, and issued a command that the
Talmudists send deputies to a disputation at
Kamieniec, failing which he would punish them and
burn the Talmud as a book hostile to Christianity.
In vain the Polish Jews referred to their ancient
privileges, screened themselves behind great nobles,
and spent large sums of money. They were obliged
to prepare for the disputation and render account
to the enemies they had so greatly despised. Only
a few rabbis appeared. What could the representa-
tives of the Talmud, with their profound ignorance
and halting speech, effect against the audacious de-
nunciations of the Frankists, particularly as they also
acknowledged the Zohar as a sacred book, and this,
as a matter of fact, formulates the doctrine of a kind
of Trinity ! What happened at the disputation of
Kamieniec has never transpired. The Talmudists
were accounted as vanquished and refuted. Bishop
Dembowski publicly declared (October 14, i/5/).
that, as the anti-Talmudists had set down in writing

282 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

and proved the chief points of their confession of
faith, they were permitted everywhere to hold dis-
putations with the Talmudists. Copies of the Tal-
mud were ordered to be confiscated, brought to
Kamieniec, and there publicly burned by the hang-
man. Dembowski was permitted arbitrarily to favor
the one party and condemn the other. The king
of Poland and his minister, Count Briihl, troubled
themselves but little about internal affairs, still less
about the Jews. Hence Dembowski, who at about
that time was made archbishop of Lernberg, was
allowed with the aid of the clergy, the police, and
the Frankists, to search for copies of the Talmud
and other rabbinical writings in the towns of his
bishopric, collect them at Kamieniec, and drag them
through the streets in mockery. Only the Bible
and the Zohar were to be spared, as in the time of
the Talmud persecution under Popes Julius IV and
Pius V. Nearly a thousand copies of the Talmud
were thrown into a great pit at Kamieniec and burnt
by the hangman. The Talmudists could do nothing,
but groan, weep, and proclaim a rigorous fast-day
on account of " the burning of the Torah." It was
the Kabbala that had kindled the torches for the
funeral pile of the Talmud. The clergy, in con-
junction with the anti-Talmudists, daily made domi-
ciliary visits into Jewish houses to confiscate copies
of the Talmud.

To free themselves and all other Jews from the
oft repeated, and as often refuted, accusation of
child-murder, which the abject Frankists had con-
firmed, the Jewish Talmudists sent Eliakim Selig
(Selek) to Benedictus XIV, to procure an official
exposure of the falsehood of the charge brought
against Jews. Eliakim's determination and persis-
tence succeeded in obtaining this authoritative ac-
quittal in Rome at the end of 1757.

Suddenly Bishop Dembowski died (November 1 7,
1757) a violent death, and this led to a new devel-

CH. VII. FRANKIST PERSECUTIONS. 283

opment in the controversy. Persecution of the
Talmudists immediately ceased, and from that time
the Frankists were persecuted, imprisoned, and de-
clared outlaws. Their beards were shaved off as a
mark of disgrace and to make them easily recog-
nizable. The majority, no longer able to maintain
themselves in Kamieniec, fled to the neighboring
province of Bessarabia. But they were even more
disturbed under Turkish jurisdiction. Their perse-
cutors informed the Jewish community of the arrival
of the anti-Talmudists in their district and of their
injuriousness to Judaism, and the former had only
to notify the Pasha and the Cadi that these sup-
posed Polish Jews were not under the protection of
the Chacham Bashi (chief rabbi) of Constantinople
in order to invite the Turks to fall upon the new-
comers and mercilessly rob and ill-treat them.
In despair the Frankists wandered restlessly about
the borderlands of Podolia and Bessarabia. At
length they addressed the king of Poland, and im-
plored him to confirm the privilege tolerating their
worship granted them by Bishop Dembowski. Au-
gustus III, the weakling and martyr of the seven
years' war, thereupon issued a decree (June 11,
1758) permitting the Frankists to return unmolested
to their homes, and reside in Poland wherever they
pleased. The decree was not enforced with suffi-
cient energy, and the Frankists continued to be
persecuted by their opponents aided by the nobles.
In their trouble some of their body were sent to beg
Frank, who had so long forsaken them, to assist
them with his advice. While affecting to demur, he
willingly obeyed their call and repaired again to
Podolia (January, 1759).

With his appearance the old game of intrigue
be^an once more. Frank was from that time: the

fj

life and soul of his followers, and without his com-
mands they undertook nothing. He saw clearly
that the hypocrisy of simply declaring that the anti-

284 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

Talmudists believed in the Trinity must not be re-
peated, but that they must make more of a conces-
sion to Christianity. By his advice six Frankists,
the majority foreigners, repaired to Wratislav Lu-
bienski, Archbishop of Lemberg, with the declara-
tion (February 20, 1 759), "in the name of their whole
body," that they were all willing, under certain con-
ditions, to be baptized. In their petition they used
phrases savoring of Catholicism, and breathed ven-
geance against their former co-religionists. Lubi-
enski had this petition of the Zoharites printed, in
order, on the one hand, to proclaim the victory of
the Church, on the other, to keep the members of
this sect to their word; but he did nothing for them.
Although in their Catholic and Kabbalistic language
they declared that they were languishing for bap-
tism "like the hart for the water-brooks," they did
not in the least contemplate an immediate formal
secession to Christianity. Frank, their leader, whom
they blindly followed, did not consider the time ripe
for this extreme measure. He reserved it to ex-
tort favorable terms, which were embodied in an
address presented to the king and Archbishop
Lubienski (May 16, 1759) by two deputies. They
insisted especially on a disputation with their oppo-
nents, adducing as a reason, that they wished to
show the world that they were led to embrace
Christianity, not from necessity and poverty, but
through conviction. They wished, moreover, to
give an opportunity to their secret confederates to
publicly avow themselves believers in Christianity,
which they would infallibly do if their righteous
cause should triumph in public argument. Finally
they hoped in this way to open the blinded eyes of
their antagonists. To this cunningly devised pe-
tition breathing malice against their enemies, the
king made no reply, while Lubienski answered
evasively that he could only promise them eternal
salvation if they allowed themselves to be baptized;

CH. VII. THE LEMBERG DISPUTATION. 285

the rest would follow as a matter of course. He
displayed no zeal whatever for the conversion of
these ragged fellows whom he believed to be dis-
semblers. The papal nuncio in Warsaw, Nicholas
Serra, did not regard with favor the idea of the con-
version of the anti-Talmudists.

The position of affairs changed, however, when
Lubienski withdrew to Gnesen, his arch-episcopal
seat, and the administrator of the archbishopric of
Lemberg, the canon De Mikulski, showed more zeal
for conversion. He immediately promised the
Frankists to arrange a religious conference between
them and the Talmudists, if they would exhibit a
sincere desire for baptism. On this the deputies,
Leb Krysa and Solomon of Rohatyn, in the name
of the whole body, made a Catholic confession of
faith (May 25), which savored of Kabbalism: " the
cross is the symbol of the Holy Trinity and the seal
of the Messiah." It closed with these words: "The
Talmud teaches the use of the blood of Christians,
and whosoever believes in it is bound to use this
blood." Thereupon Mikulski, without consulting
the papal nuncio Serra, made arrangements for a
second disputation in Lemberg (June, 1759). The
rabbis of this diocese were summoned to appear,
under pain of a heavy fine, and the nobility and
clergy were requested in case of necessity to com-
pel them. The nuncio Serra, to whom the Talmud-
ists complained, was in the highest degree dis-
satisfied with the idea of the disputation, but did
not care to prevent it because he wished to learn
with certainty whether the Jews used the blood of
Christians. This appeared to him the most impor-
tant point of all. Just at this time Pope Clement
XIII had given a favorable answer on this question
to the Jewish deputy Selek. Clement XIII pro-
claimed that the Holy See had examined the;
grounds on which rested the belief in the use of
human blood for the feast of the Passover and the

286 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

murder of Christians by Jews, and that the Jews
must not be condemned as criminals in respect of
this charge, but that in the case of such occurrences
leo-al forms of proof must be used. Notwithstand-
ing this, the papal envoy at this very time, deceived
by the meanness of the Frankists, partially credited
the false accusation, and notified the Curia of it.

The religious conference which was to lead to the
conversion of so many Jews, at first regarded with
indifference, began to awaken interest. The Polish
nobility of both sexes purchased admission cards at
a high price, the proceeds to go to the poor people
who were to be baptized. On the appointed day
the Talmudists and Zoharites were brought into the
cathedral of Lemberg ; all the clergy, nobility, and
burghers crowded thither to witness the spectacle
of jews, apparently belonging to the same religion,
hurling at each other accusations of the most abom-
inable crimes. In reality it was the Talmud and the
Kabbala, formerly a closely united pair of sisters,
who had fallen out with each other. The disputation
failed miserably. Of the Frankists, who had boast-
fully given out that several hundreds of their party
would attend, only about ten appeared, the rest
being too poor to undertake the long journey and
attire themselves decently. Of the Talmudists
forty were present owing to their dread of the
threatened fine. How Judaism had retrograded in
the century of " enlightenment " when compared
with the thirteenth century ! At that time, on a
similar occasion, the spokesman of the Jews, Moses
Nachmani, proudly confronted his opponents at the
court of Barcelona, and almost made them quake
by his knowledge and firmness. In Lemberg the
representatives of Talmudic Judaism stood awkward
and disconcerted, unable to utter a word. They
did not even understand the language of the country
-their opponents, to be sure, were in like case —
and interpreters had to be employed. But the

CH. VII. ZOHARITES BAPTIZED. 287

Catholic clergy in Poland and the learned classes
also betrayed their astounding ignorance. Not a
single Pole understood Hebrew or the language
of the rabbis sufficiently to be an impartial witness
of the dispute, whilst in Germany and Holland
Christians acquainted with Hebrew could be counted
by hundreds. The Talmudists had a difficult part
to play in this religious conference. The chief thesis
of the Frankists was that the Zohar teaches the
doctrine of the Trinity, and that one Person of the
Godhead became incarnate. Could they dare to
deny this dogma absolutely without wounding the
feelings of the Christians, their masters ? And
that leanings toward this doctrine were to be found
in the Zohar they could not deny. Of course, they
might have refuted completely the false charge of
using the blood of Christian children and of the
bloodthirsty nature of the Talmud, or might have
cited the testimony of Christians and even the
decisions of popes. They were, however, ignorant
of the history of their own suffering, and their
ignorance avenged itself on them. It is easy to
believe that the Talmudic spokesmen, after the
three days' conference, returned home ashamed and
confused. Even the imputation of shedding Chris-
tian blood continued to clinof to their religion.

fj c>

The Zoharites who had obtained their desire were
now strongly urged by the clergy to perform their
promise, and allow themselves to be baptized.
But they continued to resist as if it cost them a
great struggle, and only yielded at the express
command of their chief, Frank, and in his presence.
The latter appeared with great pomp, in magnifi-
cent Turkish robes, with a team of six horses, and
surrounded by guards in Turkish dress. He \vish< :< I
to impress the Poles. His was the strong will which
led the Frankists, and which they implicitly obeyed.
Some thousand Zoharites were baptized on this
occasion. Frank would not be baptized in Lemberg,

288 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

but appeared suddenly, with dazzling magnificence,
in Warsaw (October, 1759), aroused the curiosity
of the Polish capital, and requested the favor that
the king would stand godfather to him. The news-
papers of the Polish capital were full of accounts of
the daily baptisms of so many Jews, and of the
names of the great nobles and ladies who were their
godparents. But the Church could not rejoice in
her victory. Frank was watched with suspicion by
the clergy. They did not trust him, and suspected
him to be a swindler who, under the mask of Chris-
tianity, as formerly under that of Islam, desired to
play a part as the leader of a sect. The more
Frank reiterated the demand that a special tract of
country be assigned to him, the more he aroused
the suspicion that he was pursuing selfish aims and
that baptism had been but a means to an end.
The Talmud Jews neglected nothing to furnish
proofs of his impostures. At length he was un-
masked and betrayed by some of his Polish followers,
who were incensed at being neglected for the foreign
Frankists, and showed that with him belief in Chris-
tianity was but a farce, and that he had commanded
his followers to address him as Messiah and God
Incarnate and Holy Lord. He was arrested and
examined by the president of the Polish Inquisition
as an impostor and a blasphemer. The depositions
of the witnesses clearly revealed his frauds, and he
was conveyed to the fortress of Czenstochow and
confined in a convent (March, 1760). Only the fact
that the king was his godfather saved Frank from
being burnt at the stake as a heretic and apostate.
His chief followers were likewise arrested and
thrown into prison. The rank and file were in part
condemned to work on the fortifications of Czen-
stochow, and partly outlawed. Many Frankists
were obliged to beg for alms at the church doors,
and^were treated with contempt by the Polish pop-
ulation. They continued true, however, to their

CH. VII. EIBESCHUTZ AND THE FRANKISTS. 289

Messiah or Holy Lord. All adverse events they
accounted for in the Kabbalistic manner: they had
been divinely predestined. The cloister of Czen-
stochow they named mystically, "The gate of
Rome." Outwardly they adhered to the Catholic
religion, and joined in all the sacraments, but they
associated only with each other, and like their Turk-
ish comrades, the Donmah, intermarried only with
each other. The families descended from them in
Poland, Wolowski, Dembowski, Dzalski, are still at
the present day known as Frenks or Shabs. Frank
was set at liberty by the Russians, after thirteen
years' imprisonment in the fortress, played the part
of impostor for over twenty years elsewhere, in
Vienna, Briinn, and at last in Offenbach ; set up his
beautiful daughter Eva as the incarnate Godhead,
and deceived the world until the end of his life, and
even after his death ; but with this part of his career
Jewish history has nothing to do.

For all these calamitous events, Jonathan Eibe-
schiitz was in some measure to blame. The Frank-
ists regarded him, the great Gaon, as one of them-
selves, and he did nothing to clear himself from the
stigma of this suspicion. He was implored to aid
the Polish Jews, to make his influence felt in refuting
the charge of the use of Christian blood. He re-
mained silent as if he feared to provoke the Frank-
ists against himself. Some of his followers who had
warmly upheld him began to distrust him, among
them Ezekiel Landau, at that time chief rabbi of
Prague. Jacob Emden had won the day, he could
flourish over him the scourge of his scorn ; and he
pursued him even beyond the grave as the most
abandoned being who had ever disgraced Judaism.
The rabbinate had placed itself in the pillory, and
undermined its own authority. But it thereby
loosened the soil from which a better seed could
spring forth.

Whilst Eibeschiitz and his opponents were squab-

2QO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VII.

bling over amulets and Sabbatian heresy, and Jacob
Frank Lejbowicz was carrying- on his Zoharistic
frauds, Mendelssohn and Lessing were cementing
a league of friendship, Portugal was extinguishing
its funeral fires for the Marranos, and in England
the question of the emancipation of the Jews was
being seriously discussed in Parliament.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE MENDELSSOHN EPOCH.

Renaissance of the Jewish Race — Moses Mendelssohn — His Youth —
Improves Hebrew Style — Lessing and Mendelssohn — Mendels-
sohn's Writings — The Bonnet-Lavater Controversy — Kolbele —
The Burial Question — Reimarus — Anonymous Publication of his
Work — Lessing's "Nathan the Wise"-— Mendelssohn in
" Nathan " — Mendelssohn's Pentateuch — Opposition to it — The
"Berlin Religion " —Montesquieu — Voltaire — Portuguese Mar-
ranos in Bordeaux — Isaac Pinto — His Defense of Portuguese
Jews— Dohm and Mendelssohn — Joseph II of Austria— Michaelis
— Mendelssohn's "Jerusalem" — Wessely: his Circular Letter-
Mendelssohn's Death.

1750 — 1786 C. E.

CAN "a nation be born at once" — or can a people
be regenerated? If the laboriously constructed
organism of a nation has lost vitality, if the bonds
connecting the individual parts are weakened, and
internal dissolution has set in, even the despotic
will which keeps the members in a mechanical union
being wanting ; in short, if death comes upon a
commonalty in its corporate state, and it has been
entombed, can it be resuscitated and undergo a re-
vival ? This doom has overtaken many nationalities
of ancient and modern times. But if in such a
people a new birth should take place, i.e., a resur-
rection from death and apparent decomposition, and
if this should occur in a race long past its youthful
vigor, whose history has spread over thousands of
years, — then such a miracle deserves the most at-
tentive consideration from every man who does not
stolidly overlook what is marvelous.

The Jewish race has displayed miraculous phe-
nomena, not only in ancient days, the age of mira-
cles, but also in this matter-of-fact epoch. A com-
munity which was an object of mockery not merely

291

292 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

to the malicious and ignorant, but almost more to
benevolent and cultured men; despicable in its own
eyes ; admirable only by reason of its domestic vir-
tues and ancient memories, both, however, disfigured
beyond recognition by trivial observances; scourging
itself with bitter irony ; of which a representative
member could justly remark, "My nation has be-
come so estranged from culture, that the possibility
of improvement is doubtful" -this community
nevertheless raised itself from the dust ! It revived
with marvelous rapidity from its abjection, as if a
prophet had called unto it, " Shake thyself from the

dust ; arise loose thyself from the bands

of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion ! " And
who caused this revival? One man, Moses Men-
delssohn, who may be considered the incarnation
of his race — stunted in form, awkward, timid, stut-
tering, ugly, and repulsive in appearance. But
within this race-deformity breathed a thoughtful
spirit, which only when misled pursued chimeras,
and lost its self-esteem only when proscribed. No
sooner did it understand that it was the exponent
of the truth, than it dismissed its visionary fancies,
its spirit transfigured the body, and raised the bent
form erect, the hateful characteristics disappeared,
and the scornful nickname of "Jew" was changed
almost into a title of honor.

This rejuvenescence or renaissance of the Jewish
race, which may be unhesitatingly ascribed to Men-
delssohn, is noteworthy, inasmuch as the originator
of this great work neither intended nor suspected
it ; in fact, as already remarked, he almost doubted
the capacity for rejuvenescence in his brethren. He
produced this altogether unpremeditated glorious
result not by means of his profession or his public
position. He was not a preacher in the wilderness,
who urged the lost sons of Israel to a change of
mind ; all his life he shrank from direct exercise of
influence. Even when sought after, he avoided

CH. via. MENDELSSOHN'S YOUTH. 293

leadership of every kind with the oft-repeated con-
fession, that he was in no way fitted for the office.
Mendelssohn played an influential part without
either knowing or desiring it : involuntarily, he
aroused the slumbering genius of the Jewish race,
which only required an impulse to free itself from
its constrained position and develop. The story
of his life is interesting, because it typifies the history
of the Jews in recent times, when they raised them-
selves from lowliness and contempt to greatness
and self-consciousness.

Moses Mendelssohn (born at Dessau, August,
1728, died in Berlin, January 4, 1786) was as insig-
nificant and wretched an object as almost all poor
Jewish children. At this time even infants seemed
to possess a servile appearance. For quick-witted
boys there was no period of youth ; they were early
made to shiver and shake by the icy breath of
rough life. They were thus prematurely awakened
to think, and hardened for their struggle with un-
lovely reality. One day Mendelssohn, a weakly,
deformed lad in his fourteenth year, knocked at the
door in one of the gates of Berlin. A Jewish
watchman, a sort of police officer, the terror of im-
migrant Jews, who was ordered to refuse admission
to those without means of subsistence, harshly ad-
dressed the pale, crippled boy seeking admission.
Fortunately, he managed bashfully to stammer out
that he desired to enroll himself among the Talmud-
ical pupils of the new rabbi of Berlin. This was a
kind of recommendation, and enabled him to dis-
pense with a full purse. Mendelssohn was admit-
ted, and directed his steps towards the house of the-
rabbi, David Frankel, his countryman and teacher,
who had shortly before been called from Dessau to
the rabbinate of Berlin.

He took an interest in the shy youth, allowed
him to attend his rabbinical lectures, provided for
his maintenance, and employed him in copying his

294 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

Commentary to the Jerusalem Talmud, because
Mendelssohn had inherited a beautiful handwriting
as his only legacy from his father, a writer of scrolls
of the Law. Even if Mendelssohn learnt from
Frankel nothing besides the Talmud, yet the latter
exerted a favorable influence upon the mind of his
disciple, because his method, exercising itself upon
virgin soil, the Jerusalem Talmud, was not so dis-
torted, hair-splitting, and perverse as that of most
expounders of the Talmud, who made the crooked
straight, and the straight crooked. Mendelssohn's
innate honesty and yearning for truth were not sup
pressed or hindered by his first teacher, and this
was of value.

Like the majority of Talmud disciples (Bachurim)
Mendelssohn led the life of poverty which the
Talmud in a measure makes a stipulation for
study : —

"Eat bread with salt, drink water by measure, sleep upon the hard
earth, live a life of privations, and busy thyself with the Law."

His ideal at this time was to perfect himself in the
knowledge of the Talmud. Was it chance that im-
planted in Berlin the seed destined to produce
such luxuriant fruit? Or would the result have
been the same, if he had remained with Frankel in
Dessau, or if the latter had been called to Halber-
stadt, or Fiirth, or Metz, or Frankfort? It is highly
improbable. Retired though Mendelssohn's life was,
yet a fresh breeze was wafted from the Prussian
capital into the narrow chambers of his Rabbinical
studies. With the accession of Frederick the
Great, who besides war cultivated the Muses
(though in a French garb), literary dilettanteism,
French customs, and contempt for religion began
to grow into fashion among Berlin Jews. Although
their condition under Frederick was restricted, yet,
because several became wealthy, the new spirit did
not pass over them without leaving an impression,

CH. vin. MENDELSSOHN'S STUDIES. 295

however inadequate and superficial. An impulse
towards culture, the spirit of innovation, and imita-
tion of Christian habits began to manifest them-
selves.

A Pole first introduced Mendelssohn to the phil-
osophical work of Maimuni, which for him and
through him became a "Guide of the Perplexed."
The spirit of the great Jewish thinker, whose ashes
had lain in Palestine for more than five hundred
years, came upon young Mendelssohn, inspired him
with fresh thoughts, and made him, as it were, his
Elisha. What signified to Mendelssohn the longr

o £>

interval of many centuries? He listened to the
words of Maimuni as if sitting at his feet, and im-
bibed his wise instruction in deep draughts. He
read this book again and again, until he became
bent by constant perusal of its pages. From the
Pole, Israel Zamosc, he also learned mathematics
and logic, and from Aaron Solomon Gumpertz a
liking for good literature. Mendelssohn learned to
spell and to philosophize at the same time, and re-
ceived only desultory assistance in both. He prin-
cipally taught and educated himself. He cultivated
firmness of character, tamed his passions, and ac-
customed himself, even before he knew what
wisdom was, to live according to her rules. In this
respect also Maimuni was his instructor. By nature
Mendelssohn was violent and hot-tempered ; but
he taught himself such complete self-mastery that,
a second Hillel, he became distinguished for meek-
ness and gentleness.

As if Mendelssohn divined it to be his mission to
purify the morals and elevate the minds of his
brethren, he, still a youth, contributed to a Hebrew
newspaper, started by associates in sympathy with
him for the purpose of ennobling the Jews. The
firstlings of his intellect are like succulent grass in
the early spring. He abandoned the ossified, dis-
torted, over-embellished Hebrew style of his con-

296 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

temporaries, which had debased the Hebrew lan-
guage into the mere mumbling of a decrepit tongue.
Fresh and clear as a mountain-stream the Hebrew
outpourings of Mendelssohn welled forth. Philos-
ophical-religious views pervaded these early works,
not only Where he desired to depict trust in God
and the inefficacy of evil, but also the rejuvenes-
cence of nature in her spring vesture, and the
delight of the pure mind of man at this beautiful
change. The school of suffering through which he
had passed for so many years, instead of dragging
him down, had awakened, elevated, and ennobled
his spirit. His struggles for a livelihood ceased
when he obtained the situation as tutor in a rich
family (that of Isaac Bernard), which, though not
over-lucrative, sufficed for his frugal habits. His
journeyman days were, however, not yet at an end.
The old and the new, tradition and original views
agitated his mind; clearness and self-consciousness
were to flow into it from another source.

To the great minds which Germany produced in
the eighteenth century belongs Gotthold Ephraim
Lessing. He was the first free-thinking man in
Germany, probably more so than the royal hero
Frederick, who had indeed liberated himself from
bigotry, but still had idols to whom he sacrificed.
With his gigantic mind, Lessing burst through all
bounds and regulations which depraved taste, dry-
as-dust science, haughty orthodoxy, and pedantry
of every kind had desired to set up and perpetuate.
The freedom that Lessing brought to the Germans
was more solid and permanent than that which
Voltaire aroused in depraved French society with
his biting sarcasm ; for, his purpose was to ennoble,
and his wit was only a means to this end. Lessing
wished to exalt the theatre to a pulpit, and art to
a religion. Voltaire degraded philosophy into light
gossip for the drawing-room.

It was an important moment for the history of

CH. VIII. LESSING AND MENDELSSOHN.

the Jews, when these two young men, Mendelssohn
and Lessing, became acquainted. It is related that
a passionate lover of chess, named Isaac Hess,
brought them together at the chess-board (1754).
The royal game united two monarchs in the king-
dom of thought. Lessing, the son of a pastor, was
of a democratic nature : he sought the society of
outcasts, and those despised by public opinion. As
shortly before he had mixed with actors in Leipsic,
and as afterwards he associated with soldiers in
Breslau, so now he was not ashamed to converse in
Berlin with despised Jews. He had before this
dedicated the first-fruits of his art, which to him ap-
peared the highest art, to the pariah nation. By
his drama, " The Jews," he desired to show that a
Jew can be unselfish and noble, and he thereby
aroused the displeasure of cultivated Christian cir-
cles. The ideal of a noble Jew which Lessing had in
mind while composing this drama, he saw realized
in Mendelssohn, and it must have pleased him to
find that he was not mistaken in his portraiture,
and that reality did not disprove his dream.

As soon as Lessing and Mendelssohn became
acquainted, they learned to respect and love each
other. The latter admired in his Christian friend
his ability and unconstraint, his courage and perfect
culture, his overflowing spirit, and the vigor which
enabled him to bear a new world upon his broad
shoulders ; and Lessing admired in Mendelssohn
nobility of thought, a yearning for truth, and firm-
ness of character based upon a moral nature. They
were both so imbued with lofty nobility of mind
that the one prized in the other whatever perfection
he could not attain to equally with his friend.
Lessing suspected in his Jewish friend "a second
Spinoza, who would do honor to his nation." Men-
delssohn was completely enchanted by Lessing's
friendship. A friendly look from him, he confessed,
had such power over his mind that it banished all

HISTORV OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

grief. They exerted perceptible influence upon
each other. Lessing, at that time a mere " Schon-
geist," as it was termed, aroused in Mendelssohn
an interest for noble forms, aesthetic culture, poetry,
and art ; the latter in return stimulated Lessing to
philosophical thought. Thus they reciprocally gave
and received, the true relationship in a worthy
friendship. The bond of amity became so strong,
and united the two friends so sincerely, that it lasted
beyond the grave.

The stimulus that Mendelssohn received from his
friend was extraordinarily fruitful both for him and
for the Jews. It may be said without exaggeration
that Lessing's influence was greater in ennobling
the Jewish race than in elevating the German peo-
ple, due to the fact that the Jews were more eager
for study and more susceptible to culture. All that
Mendelssohn gained by intercourse with his friend
benefited Judaism. Through his friend, who by
reason of a genial, sympathetic nature exerted
great attraction upon talented men, Mendelssohn
was introduced into his circle, learned the forms ot
society, and threw off the awkwardness which was
the stamp of the Ghetto. He now devoted himself
zealously to the acquisition of an attractive German
style — a difficult task, as the German language was
strange to him, and the German vocabulary in use
among Jews was antiquated and misleading. Nor
had he any pattern to follow ; for, before Lessing
enriched German style with his genius, it was un-
wieldy, rugged, and ungraceful. But Mendelssohn
overcame all difficulties. He withdrew, as he ex-
pressed it, " a portion of his love from the worthy
matron (philosophy), to bestow it upon a wanton
maiden (the so-called belles-lettres .)" Before a
year's intimacy with Lessing elapsed, he was able
to compose in excellent form his " Philosophical
Conversations" (the beginning of 1755), in which
he, the Jew, blamed the Germans, because, misap-

CH. vin. MENDELSSOHN'S FIRST WORK.. 299

prehending the depth of their own genius, they
bore the yoke of French taste: "Will, then, the
Germans never recognize their own worth ? Will
they always exchange their gold for the tinsel of
their neighbors ? ' This rebuke was applicable
even to the philosophical monarch Frederick II,
who could not sufficiently scorn native talent, nor
sufficiently admire that of foreign lands. The Jew
was more German than most of the Germans of
his time.

His patriotic feelings for Judaism did not suffer
diminution thereby ; they were united in his heart
with love for German ideals. Although he could
never overcome his dislike to Spinoza's revolution-
ary system, yet in his first work he strove to save
the latter's birthright in the new metaphysics. The
" Philosophical Conversations" Mendelssohn handed
to his friend, with the jesting remark that he could
produce something like Shaftesbury, the English-
man. Without his knowledge Lessing had them
printed, and thus contributed the first leaves to his
friend's crown of laurel. Through Lessinofs zeal to

«_> <j

advance him in every way, Mendelssohn became
known in the learned circle in Berlin. When a
" Coffee-house of the Learned," for an association
of about one hundred men of science, was established
in the Prussian capital, hitherto deficient in literary
interests, the founders did not pass over the young
Jewish philosopher, but invited him to join them.
Every month some member delivered a discourse
upon a scientific subject. Mendelssohn, however,
was prevented from reading in public by modesty
and an imperfection of speech ; he presented his
contribution in writing. His essay was called an
"Inquiry into Probability," which must replace C<T
tainty in the limited sphere of human knowledge.
While it was beingf read aloud, he was recognized

fj

as the author, and was applauded by the critical
audience. Thus Mendelssohn was made a citi/.cn

30O HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

in the republic of literature, took an active part in
the literary productions of the day, and contributed
to the " Library of the Fine Arts," which had been
founded by his friend Nicolai. His taste became
more refined every day, his style grew nobler, and
his thoughts more lucid. His method of presenta-
tion was the more attractive because he seasoned it
with incisive wit.

That which the Jews had lost through the abase-
ment of thousand years of slavery, Mendelssohn
now recovered for them in a short space of time.
Almost all, with the exception of a few Portuguese
and Italian Jews, had lost pure speech, the first
medium of intellectual intercourse, and a childish
jargon had been substituted, which, a true com-
panion of their misfortunes, appeared unwilling to
forsake them. Mendelssohn felt disgust at the utter
neglect of language. He saw that the Jewish cor-
rupt speech contributed not a little to the " immor-
ality of the average man," and he hoped for good
results from the attention beginning to be paid to
pure language. It was one of the consequences of
the debasement of language, that the German and
Polish Jews had lost all sense of form, taste for
artistic beauty, and aesthetic feeling. Oppression
from without and their onerous duties, which had
reduced them to veritable slaves, had banished from
their midst these, together with many other, enno-
bling influences. Mendelssohn recovered these lost
treasures for his brethren. He acquired so remark-
able a sense for the beautiful, that he was afterwards
recognized by the Germans as a judge in questions
of taste. The perverse course of study pursued by
the Jews since the fourteenth century had blunted
their minds to simplicity. They had grown so
accustomed to all that was artificial, distorted, super-
cunningly wrought, and to subtleties, that the sim-
ple, unadorned truth became worthless, if not childish
and ridiculous, in their eyes. Their train of thought

CH. VIII. MENDELSSOHN S MENTAL TRAITS. 3OI

was mostly perverted, uncultivated, and defiant of
logical discipline. He who in a short time was to
restore their youthful strength, so schooled himself
that twisted methods and thoughts became repug-
nant to him. With his refined appreciation for the
simple, the beautiful, and the true, he acquired a
profound understanding of biblical literature, whose
essence is simplicity and truth. Through the close
layers of musty rubbish, with which commentaries
and super-commentaries had encumbered it, he pen-
etrated to the innermost core, and was able to
cleanse the beautiful picture from dust, and to under-
stand and render comprehensible the ancient Rev-
elation as if it were a new one. Though not gifted
with the ability of expressing his thoughts poetically
or rythmically, he had a delicate perception of the
poetic beauties of every literature, especially of those
in the holy language. And what formed the crown-
ing-point of these attainments was, that his moral
views were characterized by extreme delicacy ; he
was painfully conscientious and truthful, as if there
flowed through his veins the blood of a long series
of noble ancestors, who had chosen for their life's
task all that is honorable and worthy. Almost
childlike modesty adorned him, modesty quite re-
mote however from self-despising subservience.
He combined in himself so many innate and hardly
acquired qualities, that he formed a striking contrast
to the caricatures which German and Polish Jews
of the time presented. There was but one feeling
wanting in Mendelssohn — and this deficiency was
detrimental to the near future of Judaism. He
lacked an appreciation for history, for things petty
on close view, but great in perspective, for the comic
and tragic course of the human race during the
progress of time. ''What do I know of history !"
he observed, in half-apologetic, half-scornful tones ;
" whatever is called history, political history, history
of philosophers, I cannot understand." He shared

302 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

this deficiency with his prototype Maimuni, and
infected his surroundings with it.

Some of his brilliant qualities shone out from
Mendelssohn's eyes and features, and won him more
hearts than if he had striven to gain them. Curiosity
about ''this Jew" began to be aroused even at the
court of Frederick the Great. He was considered
the embodiment of wisdom. The dauntless Lessing
infused such courage into him, that he ventured to
criticise in a periodical the poetical works of the Prus-
sian sovereign, and gently hint at their faults (i 760).
Frederick the Great, who regarded verse-making
as poetry, and dogmatism as philosophy, worshiped
the Muse in the court language of the day, thor-
oughly despised the German tongue, at this time
pregnant with real poetry, and mocked at intellectual
treasures sacred to solid thinkers. Mendelssohn,
the Jew, felt hurt at the king's hatred of German, as
well as by his superficial judgments. However, as
one dare not tell the truth to monarchs, he cleverly,
through the trumpet of praise, emitted a soft note
of blame, clear enough to the acute reader.

Skillfully as Mendelssohn had concealed his cen-
sure of the king, yet a malicious courtier, the
preacher Justi, discovered it, and also the name of
the fault-finder, and denounced him, " a Jew, who
had thrown aside all reverence for the most sacred
person of His Majesty in insolent criticism of his
poetry." Suddenly, Mendelssohn received a harsh
command to appear on a Saturday at Sans-Souci ;
an act in accordance with the coarseness of the age.
Full of dread, Mendelssohn made his way to Pots-
dam to the royal castle, was examined, and asked
whether he was the author of the disrespectful criti-
cism. He admitted his offense, and excused him-
self with the observation, that "he who makes
verses, plays at nine-pins, and he who plays at nine-
pins, be he monarch or peasant, must be satisfied
with the judgment of the boy who has charge of the

CH. VIII. HIS PRIZE-ESSAY. 303

bowls as to the merit of his playing." Frederick
was no doubt ashamed to punish the Jewish reviewer
for his subtle criticism in the presence of the French
cynics of his court, and thus Mendelssohn escaped
untouched.

Fortune was extraordinarily favorable to this
man, unwittingly the chief herald of the future. It
gave him warm friends, who found true delight in
exalting him, though a Jew, in public opinion. It
secured for him a not brilliant, yet fairly indepen-
dent situation as book-keeper in the house where
he had hitherto held the toilsome position of resi-
dent tutor. It bestowed on him a trusty, tender,
and simple life companion, who surrounded him
with tokens of devoted love. Fortune soon pro-
cured a great triumph for him. The Berlin Acad-
emy had offered a prize for an essay upon the
subject, " Are philosophical (metaphysical) truths
susceptible of mathematical demonstration?"
Modestly Mendelssohn set to work to solve this
problem. He did not belong to the guild of the
learned, had not learnt his alphabet until grown up,
at an age when conventionally educated youths
have their heads crammed with Latin. When he,
became aware that his friend, the young, highly-
promising scholar Thomas Abt, was also a compet-
itor, he almost lost courage, and desired to with-
draw. Still his work gained the prize (June, 1763),
not alone over Abt, but even over Kant, whose
essay received only honorable mention. Mendels-
sohn obtained the prize of fifty ducats and the
medal. The Jew, the tradesman, had defeated his
rivals of the learned guild. Kant's disquisition
went deeper into the question, but that of Mendels-
sohn had the advantage of clearness and compre-
hensibility. " He had torn the thorns from the
roses of philosophy." Compelled to acquire each
item of his knowledge by great labor, and having
only with difficulty become conversant with the

304 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

barbarous dialect of the schools, he did not content
himself with dry formulae, but exerted himself to
render intelligible, both for himself and others,
metaphysical conceptions and truths. This circum-
stance gained him the victory over his much pro-
founder opponent. His essay, which together with
that of Kant was translated into French and Latin
at the expense of the Academy, earned for him as-
sured renown in the learned world, which was
enhanced by the fact that the prize-winner was a
Jew.

In the same year (October, 1763), he received a
distinction from King Frederick, characteristic of
the low condition of the Jews in Prussia. This
honor was the privilege of being a protected Jew
(Schutz-Jude), i. e., the assurance that he would not
some fine day be expelled from Berlin. Hitherto,
he had been tolerated in Berlin only as a retainer
of his employer. The philosophical King Freder-
ick sympathized with the antipathy of his illustrious
enemy Maria Theresa to the Jews, and issued anti-
Jewish laws worthy of the Middle Ages rather than
of the eighteenth century, so boastful of its human-
ity. He wished to see the Jews of his dominions
diminished in number, rather than increased.
Frederick's "general privilege" for the Jews was
an insult to the age. Marquis d'Argent, one of
Frederick's French courtiers, who in his naivete
could not conceive that a wise and learned man like
Mendelssohn might any day become liable to be
driven out of Berlin by the brutal police, urged
Mendelssohn to sue for the privilege of protection,
and the king to grant it. However, a long time
elapsed before the dry official document granting it
reached him. At last Mendelssohn became a
Prussian " Schutz-Jude."

The philosophical " Schutz-Jude " of Berlin now
won great success with a work, which met with al-
most rapturous admiration from his contemporaries

CH. VIII. CHRISTIANITY DISCREDITED. 305

in all classes of society. Two decades later this
production was already obsolete, and at the present
day has only literary value. Nevertheless, when it
appeared, it justly attained great importance.
Mendelssohn had hit upon the exact moment to
bring it forward, and he became one of the cele-
brities of the eighteenth century. For almost six-
teen centuries Christianity had educated the nations
of Europe, governed them, and almost surfeited
them with belief in the supernatural. It had em-
ployed all available means to effect its ends, and
finally, when the thinkers awakened from their
slumber induced by its lullabies, to inquire into the
certainty secured by this announcement of salva-
tion which promised so much, serious people said
with regret — whilst sceptics chuckled with brutal
delight — that it offered delusive fancies in the place
of truth.

In serious compositions, or in satires, the French
thinkers of the eighteenth century — the whole body
of Materialists — had revealed the hollowness of the
doctrine, in which the so-called civilized peoples
had found comfort and tranquillity for many cen-
turies. The world was deprived of a God, the
heavens were enshrouded in mist ; all that had
hitherto seemed firm and incapable of being dis-
placed was turned topsy-turvy. The doctrine of
Jesus had lost its power of attraction, and become
degraded in the eyes of the earnest and thoughtful
to the level of childish fables. Infidelity had be-
come a fashion. With the undeifying of Jesus
appeared to go hand-in-hand the dethronement of
God, and doubt of the important dogma of the im-
mortality of the soul, which Christian theology had
borrowed from Greek philosophy and, as always,
adorning itself with strange feathers, had claimed
as its original creation. Thereupon depended not
merely the confidence of mankind in a future; exist-
ence, but also the practical morals of the present.

306 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

If the soul is mortal and transient, they thought in
the eighteenth century, then the acts of man are of
no consequence ! Whether he be good or evil,
virtuous or criminal, on the other side of the grave
there was no retribution. Thus, after the long
dream of many centuries, the civilized portion of
mankind again fell into the despondency prevalent
in the Roman society of the empire ; they were
without God, without support, without moral free-
dom, without stimulus to a virtuous life. Man had
been degraded to a complicated machine.

Mendelssohn was also biased by the prejudice
that the dignity of man stands and falls with the
question of the immortality of the soul. He there-
fore undertook to restore this belief to the cultured
world, to discover again the lost truth, to establish
it so firmly and ward off materialistic attacks upon
it so decisively, that the dying man should calmly
look forward to a blissful future and to felicity in
the after-life. He composed a dialogue called
" Phaedon, or the Immortality of the Soul." It was
to be a popular book, a new doctrine of salvation
for the unbelieving or sceptical world. Therefore
he gave to his dialogue an easily comprehensible,
attractive style, after the pattern of Plato's dialogue
of the same name, from which he copied also the
external form. But Plato supplied him with the
mere form. Mendelssohn caused his Socrates to
give utterance to the philosophy of the eighteenth
century through the mouth of his pupil, Phaedon.

His starting-point, in proving the doctrine of the
immortality of the soul, is the fact of the existence
of God, of which he has the highest possible cer-
tainty. The soul is the work of God, just as the
body is ; the body does not actually perish after
dissolution, but is transformed into other elements ;
much less, then, can the soul, a simple essence, be
decomposed, and perish. Further, God has ac-
quainted the soul with the idea of immortality, has

CH. VIII. " PH^DON."

3°7

implanted it in the soul. Can He, the Benevolent
and True One, practice deception ?

"If our soul were mortal, then reason would be a dream, which
Jupiter has sent us that we may forget our misery ; and we would be
created like the beasts, only to seek food and die."

Every thought inborn in man must for that reason
be true and real.

In demonstrating the doctrine of immortality,
Mendelssohn had another noble purpose in view.
He thought to counteract the malady of talented
youths of the day, the Jerusalem-Werthers, who,
without a goal for their endeavors, excluded from
political and elevating public activity, lost in whim-
sical sentimentality and self-created pain, sank to
thoughts of suicide, which they carried out, unless
courage, too, was sicklied over. Mendelssohn,
therefore, in his " Phsedon " sought to inculcate the
conviction, that man, with his immortal soul, is a pos-
session of God, and has no manner of right to decide
arbitrarily about himself and his life, or about the
separation of his soul from his body — feeble argu-
mentation, but sufficient for that weakly, effeminate
generation.

With his " Phaedon," Mendelssohn attained more
than he had intended and expected, viz., "conviction
of the heart, warmth of feeling," in favor of the doc-
trine of immortality. " Phsedon " was the most pop-
ular book of its time, and was perused with heart
and soul. In two years it ran through three editions,
and was immediately translated into all the Euro-
pean languages, also into Hebrew. Theologians,
philosophers, artists, poets, such as Herder, Gleim,
and Goethe, then but a youth, statesmen, and princes
— men and women — were edified by it, reanimated
their depressed religious courage, and, with an en-
thusiasm which would to-day appear absurd, thanked
the Jewish sage who had restored to them that
comfort which Christianity no longer afforded. The

308 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIIL

deliverance by Mendelssohn, the Jew, was as joy-
fully welcomed by the world grown pagan, as in
an earlier epoch that effected by the Jews, Jesus and
Paul of Tarsus, was welcomed by the heathens.
His contemporaries were delighted both with the
contents and the form, with the glowing, fresh, vig-
orous style, a happy, artistic imitation of Plato's
dialogues. From all sides letters of congratulation
poured in upon the modest author. Everyone of
the literary guild who passed through Berlin eagerly
sought out the Jewish Plato, as one of the greatest
celebrities of the Prussian capital, to have a word
with him. The Duke of Brunswick seriously thought
of securing the services of Mendelssohn for his
state. The Prince of Lippe-Schaumburg treated
him as a bosom friend. The Berlin Academy of
Sciences proposed him as a member. But King
Frederick struck the name of Mendelssohn off the
list, because, as it was said, he desired at the same
time to have the Empress Catherine admitted into
the learned body, and she would be insulted in hav-
ing a Jew as a companion. Two Benedictine friars
— one from the convent of Peter, near Erfurt, the
other from the convent of La Trappe — addressed
Mendelssohn, the Jew, as the adviser of their con-
science, for instruction in moral and philosophical
conduct. The book " Phsedon," out of date in twenty
years, as remarked above, raised its author to the
height of fame. He was fortunate, because he in-
troduced it to the world exactly at the right moment.
An incident vexatious in itself served to exalt
Mendelssohn to an extraordinary degree in the eyes
of his contemporaries, and to invest him with the
halo of martyrdom. John Caspar Lavater, an
evangelical minister of Zurich, an enthusiast who
afterwards joined the Jesuits, thought that he had
found in Mendelssohn's intellectual countenance a
confirmation of his deceptive art, the reading of the
character and talents of a man from his features.

CH. vm. LAVATER. 309

Lavater asserted that in every line of Mendelssohn's
face the unprejudiced could at once recognize the
soul of Socrates. He was completely enchanted
with Mendelssohn's head, raved about it, desiring
to possess a well-executed model, in order to bring
honor upon his art. Mendelssohn having caused his
Phaedon to speak in so Greek a fashion that no one
could have recognized the author as a Jew, Lavater
arrived at the fantastic conclusion that Mendelssohn
had become entirely estranged from his religion.
Lavater had learned that certain Berlin Jews were
indifferent to Judaism, and forthwith reckoned Men-
delssohn amongst their number. There was the
additional fact that, in a conversation reluctantly
entered upon with Lavater, Mendelssohn had pro-
nounced calm, sober judgment upon Christianity,
and had spoken with a certain respect of Jesus,
though with the reservation, " if Jesus of Nazareth
had desired to be considered only a virtuous man."
This expression appeared to Lavater the dawning
of grace and belief. What if this great man, this
incarnation of wisdom, who had become indifferent
towards Judaism, could be won over to Christianity!
This was the train of thought which arose in Lava-
ter's mind after reading " Phaedon." Ingenuous or
cunning, he spread his net for Mendelssohn, and
thus showed how ignorant he was of his true char-
acter. About this time, a Geneva professor, Caspar
Bonnet, had written in French a weak apology, en-
titled " Investigation into the Evidences of Chris-
tianity against Unbelievers." This work Lavater
translated into German, and sent to Mendelssohn,
with an awkward dedication, which looked like a
snare (September 4, 1769). Lavater solemnly ad-
jured him to refute publicly Bonnet's proofs of
Christianity, or, if he found them correct, to do
" what sagacity, love of truth, and honesty would
naturally dictate, what a Socrates would hav<- done,
if he had read this treatise, and found it unanswer-

3IO HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

able." If Lavater had been really acquainted with
the secrets of the heart, as he prided himself, he
would have understood that, even if Mendelssohn
had severed all connection with Judaism, Christianity
was still more repugnant to him, and that sagacity,
that is to say, regard to profit and the advantages
of a pleasant existence, was altogether lacking in
his character. Lavater did not desire to expose
him before the public, but he wished to create a sen-
sation, without thinking what pain he was causing
the shy scholar of Berlin.

Mendelssohn later had reason to thank Lavater
for having through thoughtlessness or pious cunning
drawn him out of his diffidence and seclusion. Men-
delssohn had indeed expressed his relations to
Judaism and his co-religionists so vaguely that on-
lookers might have been misled. In public life he
was a philosopher and an elegant writer, who rep-
resented the principles of humanity and good taste,
and apparently did not trouble about his race. In
the darkness of the Ghetto he was a strictly ortho-
dox Jew, who, apparently unconcerned about the
laws of beauty, joined in the observance of every
pious custom. Self-contained and steadfast though
he was in reality, he seemed to be a twofold per-
sonality, revealing the one or the other as he was
in Christian or in Jewish society. He could not
stand up in defense of Judaism without, on the one
hand, affronting Christianity by his philosophical
convictions, and, on the other, showing, if ever so
lightly, his dissatisfaction with the chaotic traditions
of the synagogue, and so offending the sensibility
of his co-religionists and quarreling with them.
Neither of these courses, owing to his peace-loving
character, entered his mind. He would have been
able to pass his life in an attitude of silence, if Lav-
ater's rude importunity had not draped him out of

i * r 1 • • i oc>

this false position, altogether unworthy of a man
with a mission. Painful as it was to reveal his in-

CH. VIII. MENDELSSOHN ON JUDAISM. 31 1

nermost thoughts upon Judaism and Christianity, he
could not hold his peace at this challenge, without
being considered a coward even by his friends.
These reflections weighed heavily upon him, and
caused him to take up the glove.

He skillfully carried on the contest thus forced
upon him, and was ultimately victorious. At the
end of 1769, in a public letter addressed to Christ-
endom and Lavater, its representative, Mendels-
sohn in the mildest form wrote most cutting truths,
whose utterance in former times would inevitably
have led to bloodshed or the stake. Mendelssohn
had examined his religion since the days of his
youth, and found it true. Philosophy and belles-
lettres had with him never been an end, but the
means to prepare him for testing Judaism. He
could not possibly expect advantage from adher-
ence to it ; and as for pleasure —

" O my worthy friend, the position assigned to my co-religionists
in civil life is so far removed from all free exercise of spiritual pow-
ers, that one's satisfaction is not increased by learning the true rights
of man. He who knows the state in which we now are, and has a
humane heart, will understand more than I can express."

If the examination of Judaism had not produced
results favorable to it, what would have chained him
to a religion so intensely and universally despised,
what could have prevented him from leaving it?
Fear of his co-religionists, forsooth ? Their secular
power was too insignificant to do any harm.

" I do not deny that I have noticed in my religion certain human
additions and abuses, such as every religion accepts in course of
time, which unfortunately dim its splendor. But of the essentials of
my iaith I am so firmly and indisputably assured, that I call God to
witness that I will adhere to my fundamental creed as long as my
soul does not assume another nature."

He was as opposed to Christianity as ever, for
the reason which he had communicated to Lavater
verbally, and which the latter should not have con-
cealed, namely, that its founder had declared him-
self to be God.

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

"Yet for my part, Judaism might have been utterly crushed in
every polemical text-book, and triumphantly arraigned in every
school composition, without my ever entering into a controversy
about it. Without the slightest contradiction from me, any scholar
or any sciolist in subjects Rabbinic might have constructed lor hirnselt
and his readers the most ridiculous view of Judaism out of worthless
books which no rational Jew reads, or knows of. The contemptible
opinion held of Jews I would desire to shame by virtue, not by con-
troversy. My religion, my philosophy, and my status in civil hie are
the weightiest arguments for avoiding all religious discussion, and
for treating in public writings of truths equally important to all
religions."

Judaism was binding only upon the congregation
of Jacob. It desired proselytes so little, that the
rabbis had ordained that any person who offered to
unite himself to this religion was to be dissuaded
from his design.

" The religion of my fathers does not care to be spread abroad ;
we are not to send missions to the two Indies or to Greenland, to
preach our belief to remote nations. I have the good fortune to
possess as friends many excellent men not of my creed. We love
each other dearly, and never have I said in my heart, 'What a pity
for that beautiful soul!' It is possible for me to recognize national
prejudices and erroneous religious opinions among my fellow-citi-
zens, and nevertheless feel constrained to remain silent, if these
errors do not directly affect natural religion or natural law (morality),
but are only accidentally connected with the advancement of good.
It is true that the morality of our actions does not deserve the name,

if based upon error But as long as truth is not recognized,

as long as it does not become national, so as to work as powerful an
effect upon the great mass of the people as ingrained prejudice, the
latter must be almost sacred to every friend of virtue. These are the
reasons that religion and philosophy give me to shun religious
disputes."

Besides, being a Jew, he had to be content with
toleration, because in other countries even this was
denied his race. " Is it not forbidden, according to
the laws of your native city," he ask Lavater,
"for your circumcised friend even to visit you in
Zurich?" The French work of Bonnet he did not
find so convincing, he said, as to cause his convic-
tions to waver ; he had read better defenses of
Christianity written by Englishmen and Germans ;
also it was not original, but borrowed from German
writings. The arguments were so feeble and so

CH. VIII. PUBLIC OPINION ON LAVATER. 313

little tending" to prove Christianity that any relig-
ion could be equally well or badly defended by them.
If Lavater thought that a Socrates could have been
convinced of the truth of Christianity by this treat-
ise, he only showed what power prejudice exerts
over reason.

If the evangelical consistory, before whom Men-
delssohn offered to lay his letter for censorship be-
fore printing it, did not regret granting him per-
mission to print whatever he pleased, " because they
knew his wisdom and modesty to be such that he
would write nothing that might give public offense,"
still he undoubtedly did give offense to many pious
persons.

Mendelssohn's epistle to Lavater naturally made
a great sensation. Since the appearance of Phse-
don, he belonged to the select band of authors
whose works every cultivated person felt obliged to
read. Besides it happened that the subject of the
controversy was attractive at the time. The free-
thinkers— by no means few at this time — were glad
that at last some one, a Jew at that, had ventured
to utter a candid word about Christianity. Owing
to his obtrusiveness and presumptuous advocacy of
Christianity, Lavater had many enemies. These
read Mendelssohn's clever reply to the zealous con-
versionist with mischievous delight. The hereditary
prince of Brunswick, who, as said above, was
charmed with Mendelssohn, expressed (January 2,
1770) his admiration, that he had spoken " with such
great tact and so high a degree of humanitarianism '
upon these nice questions. Bonnet himself, less
objectionable than his servile flatterer, admitted the
justice of Mendelssohn's cause, and complained of
Lavater's injudicious zeal. A letter of his dated
January 12, 1770, was almost a triumph for Men-
delssohn. He said that his dissertation, with which
Lavater had desired to convert the Jew, had not
been addressed to the honorable " House of Jacob,"

314 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

for which his heart entertained the smcerest and
warmest wishes ; much less had it been his inten-
tion to give the Jewish philosopher a favorable
opinion of Christianity. He was full of admiration
for the wisdom, the moderation, and the abilities of
the famous son of Abraham. He indeed desired
him to investigate Christianity, as it could only gain
by being subjected to a close inquiry by the wise
son of Mendel. But he did not wish to fall into
Lavater's mistakes, and make it burdensome for
him. However, in spite of his virtuous indignation,
Bonnet perpetrated a bit of knavery against Men-
delssohn. Lavater himself was obliged in a letter
to publicly beg Mendelssohn's pardon for having
placed him in so awkward a position, entreating
him at the same time to attest that he had not in-
tentionally been guilty of any indiscretion or per-
fidy. Thus Mendelssohn had an opportunity of
acting magnanimously towards his opponent. On
the subject proper under dispute, however, he re-
mained firm ; he did not surrender an iota of his
Judaism, not even its Talmudical and Rabbinical
peculiarities, and with every step his courage grew.
Mendelssohn did not wish to let pass this pro-
pitious opportunity of glorifying Judaism, which was
so intensely contemned, and make it clear that it
was in no way opposed to reason. Despite the
warnings of timid Jews, to allow the controversy to
lapse, so as not to stir up persecutions, he pointed
out with growing boldness the chasm which Chris-
tianity had dug between itself and reason, whereas
Judaism in its essence was in accord with reason.
'The nearer I approach this so highly-esteemed
religion," he wrote in his examination of Bonnet's
' Palingenesie," "the more abhorrent is it to my
reason." It afforded him especial delight when
strictly orthodox Christians thought that they were
abusing Judaism by declaring it to be equivalent to
natural religion (Deism).

CH. VIII. JUDAISM GLORIFIED. 315

" Blessed be God, who has given unto us the doctrine of truth. We
have no dogmas contrary to, or beyond reason. We add nothing,
except commandments and statutes, to natural religion ; but the fun-
damental doctrines of our religion rest upon the basis of understand-
ing." " This is our glory and our pride, and all the writings of our
sages are full of it."

Frankly Mendelssohn spoke to the hereditary
prince of Brunswick of the untenability of Christian,
and the reasonableness of Jewish, dogmas. He
thought that he had not yet done enough for
Judaism.

"Would to God, another similar opportunity were granted me; I
would do the same. . „ „ . When I consider what we ought to do for
the recognition of the sanctity of our religion."

Those who had not wholly parted company with
reason declared Mendelssohn to be in the right, and
his defense to be justo They beheld with astonish-
ment that Judaism, so greatly despised, was yet
vastly superior to celebrated, official, orthodox
Christianity. Through its noble son, Judaism cele-
brated a triumph. The unhappy ardor of Lavater,
and the refined yet daring answer of Mendelssohn
for a long time formed the topic of conversation in
cultured circles in Germany, and even beyond its
borders. The journals commented upon it, and
noted every incident. Anecdotes passed backwards
and forwards between Zurich and Berlin. It was
said that Lavater had asserted that if he were
able to continue for eleven days in a state of com-
plete holiness and prayer, he would most positively
succeed in converting Mendelssohn to Christianity.
When Mendelssohn heard this saying — whether
authentic or not it is characteristic of Lavater — he
smilingly said, " If I am permitted to sit here in my
armchair and smoke a pipe philosophically, I have
no objections !" There was more talk of the contest
between Mendelssohn and Lavater than of war and
peace. Every fair brought pamphlets written in
German and French, unimportant productions,
which did not deserve to live long. Only a few were

316 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. viii.

on Mendelssohn's side, the majority took the part
of Christianity and its representatives against the
" insolence of the Jew," who did not consider it an
honor to be offered admission into the Christian
community.

The worst of these was by a petty, choleric
author, named John Balthasar Kolbele, of Frank-
fort-on-the-Main, who, from hatred of the Jews, or
from distemper of body and soul, hurled such coarse
insults against Mendelssohn, the rabbis, the Jews,
and Judaism, that his very violence paralyzed his
onslaught. Kolbele had on a previous occasion
attacked Mendelssohn, and jeered at him by means
of a lay figure in one of his forgotten romances. He
desired to write, or said that he had written, an
" Anti-Phsedon " against Mendelssohn's " Phsedon."
His whole gall was vented in a letter to " Mr. Men-
delssohn upon the affair of Lavater and Kolbele "
(March, 1770). Against the assertions of Mendels-
sohn as to the purity of Judaism, he brought forward
the calumnies and perversions of his brother in feel-
ing, Eisenmenger. Mendelssohn's pure, unselfish
character was known in almost all cultivated and
high circles of Europe. Nevertheless, Kolbele cast
the suspicion upon him of adhering to Judaism from
self-interest, " because a Jewish bookkeeper is in a
better position than a Christian professor, and the
former besides derives some profit from attendance
in the antechambers of princes." To Mendelssohn's
asseveration that he would cling to Judaism all his
lifetime, the malignant fool or libeler rejoined,
" How little value Christians attach to the oath of a
Jew ! ' Mendelssohn disposed of him in a few words
in the postscript of a letter addressed to Lavater.
Nothing more was required ; Kolbele had con-
demned himself. Mendelssohn profited by these
vilifying attacks, inasmuch as respectable authors,
who in their hearts were not a little irritated by his
independent and bold action, left him in peace,

CH. VIII. MENDELSSOHN S JEWISH DETRACTORS. 317

rather than be associated with Kolbele. Mendels-
sohn emerged victorious from this conflict, trifling
only at first sight, which had lasted for nearly two
years ; he rose in public opinion, because he had
manfully vindicated his own religion.

It had brought upon him also the reproaches of
pious Jews. That which his discernment had feared
took place. From love of truth he had publicly de-
clared, that he had found in Judaism certain human
additions and abuses, which only served to dim its
splendor. This expression offended those who rev-
erenced every custom, however un-Jewish, as a
revelation from Sinai, because it was sanctified by
time and the code. The entire Jewish world, inclu-
ding the Berlin community, with the exception of
the few who belonged to Mendelssohn's circle,
would not admit that rust had accumulated upon
the noble metal of Judaism. He was therefore
questioned on this point, probably by Rabbi Hir-
schel Lewin, and asked for an exact explanation of
the phrase. He was very well able to give a reply,
which probably satisfied the rabbi, who was no
zealot. But his orthodoxy was still suspected by
the strictly pious people whom he termed " the
Kolbeles of our co-religionists." He was obliged
to exculpate himself from the imputation of having
pronounced the decisions of Talmudical sages " as
worthless trash." Young Poles, adventurous spirits,
thirsting for knowledge, " with good minds, but
confused thoughts," both pure and impure elements,
forced themselves upon Mendelssohn, and brought
him into bad repute. The majority had broken not
alone with the Talmud, but also with religion and
morality ; they led a dissolute life, and considered
it the mark of philosophy and enlightenment. Out
of love to mankind and independent thought, Men-
delssohn entered into relations with them, held dis-
cussions with them, advanced and aided them, which
also cast a false light upon his relations to Judaism.

318 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

The frivolity and excesses of these young men were
imputed to him, and they were regarded as his
proteges and disciples.

He soon gave occasion for an increase of this
suspicion. The Duke of Mecklenbtirg-Schwerin, to
avoid the dangers of premature interment, had in a
mild, fatherly way (April, 1772) forbidden the Jews
of his land to bury the dead at once, according to
Jewish usage. Jewish piety towards the deceased,
which forbids keeping the dead above the earth
long enough for decomposition to set in — a feeling
petrified in the ritual code — was affronted by this
edict, as though the duke had commanded disre-

<^

gard of a religious practice. The representatives
of the congregations of Schwerin supplicated Jacob
Emden, of Altona, the aged champion of orthodoxy,
to demonstrate from Talmudic and Rabbinic laws,
that prolonged exposure of a corpse was an impor-
tant infringement of Jewish law. Emden, who knew
his inability to compose a memorial in German, re-
ferred the people of Schwerin to Mendelssohn,
whose word had great influence with princes.
They followed his advice. How astounded were
they to learn, from a letter of Mendelssohn's (May,
1772), that he agreed with the ducal order, that the
dead should not be buried before the third day ; be-
cause, according to the experience of competent
physicians, cases of apparent death were possible ;
and that it was right, in fact, compulsory, to rescue
human life in spite of the most stringent ordinances
of the religious code ! Mendelssohn proved be-
sides that in Talmudical times precautions were
taken for the prevention of hasty burial in doubtful
cases. His opinion was, with the exception of one
blunder, faultlessly elaborated in the Rabbinical
manner. Nevertheless, true to his peaceful, com-
plaisant nature, he sent the formula of a petition to
the duke to mitigate the decree. Emden, however,
in his orthodox zeal, stamped this disputed question

CH. VIII. THE BURIAL QUESTION. 319

almost as an article of faith. A custom so univer-
sal among Jews, among Italians and Portuguese as
well as Germans and Poles, could not be lightly set
aside. Not much value was to be attached to the
sayings of doctors. Mendelssohn's Talmudical
proofs were not conclusive. In a letter Emden
gave him clearly to understand that he was reprov-
ing him for his own benefit, to remove the suspicion
of lukewarm belief, which he had aroused by his
evil surroundings. Thus arose petty discord be-
tween Mendelssohn and the rigidly orthodox party,
which afterwards increased.

Meanwhile, his friend Lessing, just before his
death, had unintentionally stirred up a storm in
Germany which caused the Church to tremble, and,
under the spell of discontent and an artistic im-
pulse, he had glorified Mendelssohn, together with
all Jews, in a perfect poetic creation. The first
cause of this tempest, which shook Christianity to
its core, was Mendelssohn's dispute with Lavater.
Lessing was so indignant at the certainty of victory
assumed by the representative of Church Christ-
ianity that he had strenuously encouraged his Jewish
friend to engage in valorous conflict.

" You alone dare and are able to write and speak thus upon this
matter, and are therefore infinitely more fortunate than all other hon-
est people, who cannot achieve the subversion of this detestable
structure of unreason otherwise than under the pretense of building a
new substructure."

He did not suspect that even then he was holding
a thunderbolt in his hands, which he would soon be in
a position to hurl against the false gods who thought
that they had conquered heaven. During his rest-
less life, which corresponded to his constantly agi-
tated spirit, Lessing came to Hamburg, where he
made the acquaintance of the respected and in •<•
thinking family of Reimarus. Hermann Samuel
Reimarus, a profound inquirer, indignant at the
fossilized and insolent Lutheran Christianity of the

320 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

Hamburg pastors, had written a " Defense of the
Rational Worshipers of God," in which he rejected
every revealed religion, endeavoring to secure to
reason the rights denied it, and depreciating par-
ticularly the founder of Christianity. Reimarus,
however, had not courage to utter boldly what he
recognized as true, and lay bare publicly, in accor-
dance with his convictions, the weaknesses of the
dominant religion. He left this treatise, which con-
tained dangerous and inflammatory material, to his
family and to a secret order of free-thinkers, as a
legacy. Eliza Reimarus, a noble daughter worthy
of her father, handed fragments of this incendiary
manuscript to Lessing, who read them with interest,
and thought of publishing them. However, he had
not sufficient confidence in himself to give a decis-
ion upon points of theological discussion, and, there-
fore, sent these fragments to his Jewish friend, who
was capable of judging them. Mendelssohn did
not, indeed, find this work very convincing, because
the author, embittered by the credulity of the
Church, had fallen into the opposite error of advo-
cating the most spiritless form of infidelity, and, ac-
cording to the shortsighted view of that age, of
finding only petty intrigues in great historical move-
ments. Despite Mendelssohn's judgment, his friend
continued to think that this book would be of ser-
vice in humiliating the Church. He seriously
thought of hurling the inflammatory writings of
Reimarus, under a false name, at the Church. But
the Berlin censorship would not allow them to be
printed. Then Lessing formed another plan. His
position as superintendent of the ducal library of
Brunswick in Wolfenbiittel permitted him to pub-
lish the manuscript treasures of this rich collection.
In the interest of truth he perpetrated a falsehood,
asserting that he had discovered in this library these
" Fragments of an Unknown," the work of an author
of the last generation. Under this mask, and pro-

CH. VIII. THE WOLFENBUTTEL "FRAGMENTS." 321

tected by his immunity from censorship in publish-
ing contributions " to history and literature from the
treasures of the library at Wolfenblittel," he began
to issue them. He proceeded step by step with the
publication of these fragments. The first install-
ments were couched in an entreating tone, asking
for support of the religion of reason against the
religion of the catechism and the pulpit. He then
ventured a step further — to prove the impossibility
of the miracles upon which the Church was based,
and especially to make apparent the unhistorical
character and incredibility of the resurrection of
Jesus, one of the main pillars of Christianity, with
which it stands and falls. Finally, Lessing pro-
duced the most important of the fragments at the
beginning of 1778, ''Upon the Aim of Jesus and
His Disciples." Herein it was explained that Jesus
had only desired to announce himself as the Jewish
Messiah and King of the Jews. To this end he
had made secret preparations with his disciples,
formed conspiracies to kindle a revolution in Jeru-
salem, and attacked the authorities in order to cause
the downfall of the High Council (the Synhedrion).
But when this plan of subversion failed, and Jesus
had to suffer death, his disciples invented another
system, and declared that the kingdom of Jesus was
not of this world. They proclaimed him the spirit-
ual redeemer of mankind, and gave prominence to
the hope of his speedy reappearance ; thus the
Apostles had concealed and disfigured the original
system of Jesus.

This treatment of the early history of Christianity,
fairly calculated to overthrow the whole edifice of
the Church, descended like a lightning-flash. It
was sober, convincing, scientifically elaborated, yet
comprehensible by everyone. Amazement and
stupefaction were the effect, especially on the
publication of the last fragment. Statesmen and
citizens were as much affected as theologians.

^22 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

•Public opinion upon the matter was divided.
Earnest youths about to begin a theologic career
hesitated ; they did not care to yield their life's
activity to what was perhaps only a dream, and
chose another vocation. Some affirmed that the
proofs against Christianity were irrefutable. The
anonymity of the writer heightened the excitement.
Conjectures were made as to who the author might
be ; Mendelssohn's name was publicly mentioned.
Only a few knew that this blow had been struck by
Reimarus, revered by theologians, too. The anger
of the zealots was discharged upon the publisher,
Lessing. He was attacked by all parties, and had
no companion in arms. His Jewish friend would
willingly have hastened to his assistance, but how
could he mix himself up in these domestic squabbles
of the Christians ? Among the numerous slanders
circulated by the orthodox about Lessing it was
said that the wealthy Jewish community of Amster-
dam had paid him one thousand ducats for the
publication of the Wolfenbiittel fragments. Accus-
tomed to single-handed combat against want of
taste and reason, Lessing was man enough to
protect himself. It was a goodly sight to behold
this giant in the fray, dealing crushing strokes
with light banter and graceful skill. He defeated
his enemies one after the other, especially one who
was the type of blindly credulous, arrogant, and
malicious orthodoxy, the minister Goze in Hamburg.
As his pigmy opponents could not overcome this
Hercules by literary skill, they summoned to their
aid the secular arm. Lessing's productions were
forbidden and confiscated, he was compelled to
deliver up the manuscripts of the " Fragments,"
his freedom from censorship was withdrawn, and
he was expected not to write any more upon this
subject (i 778). He struggled against these violent
proceedings, but he was vulnerable in one point.
The greatest man whom Germany had hitherto

CH. VIII. " NATHAN THE WISE."

323

produced was without means, and his position as
librarian being imperiled, he was obliged to seek
for other means of support. During one of his
sleepless nights (August 10, 1778), a plan struck
him which would simultaneously relieve him from
pecuniary embarrassments and inflict a worse blow
than ten " Fragments " upon the Lutheran theolo-
gians. They thundered against him from their
church pulpits ; he would try to answer them from
his theatre pulpit. The latest, most mature, and
most perfect offspring of his Muse, " Nathan the
Wise," should be his avenger. Lessing had carried
this idea in his mind for several years ; but he could
not have executed it at a more favorable time.

To the annoyance of the pious Christians who,
with all their bigotry, uncharitableness, and desire
for persecution, laid claim to every virtue on account
of their belief in Jesus, and denounced the Jews,
one and all, as outcasts, Lessing represented a
Jew as the immaculate ideal of virtue, wisdom,
and conscientiousness. This ideal he had found
embodied in Moses Mendelssohn. He illumined
him and the greatness of his character by the bright
light of theatrical effects, and impressed the stamp
of eternity upon him by his immortal verses. The
chief hero of Lessing's drama is a sage and a
merchant, like Mendelssohn, " as good as he is
clever, and as clever as he is wise." His nation
honors him as a prince, and though it calls him the
wise Nathan, he was above all things good :

" The law commandeth mercy, not compliance.
And thus for mercy's sake he's uncomplying :
.... How free from prejudice his lofty soul—
His heart to every virtue how unlocked—
With every lovely feeling- how familiar ....
. . . . O what a Jew is he ! yet wishes
Only to pass as a Jew."

A son of Judaism, Nathan had elevated himself
to the highest level of humane feeling and charitable-
ness, for such his Law prescribed. In a fanatical

324 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

massacre by Crusaders, ferocious Christians had
slaughtered all the Jews in Jerusalem, with their
wives and children, and his beloved wife and seven
hopeful sons had been burnt. At first he raged,
and murmured against fate, but anon he spake with
the patience of Job:

" This also was God's decree : So be it ! "

In his terrible grief a mounted soldier brought
him a young, tender Christian child, an orphan girl,
and Nathan took it, bore it to his couch, kissed it,
flung himself upon his knees, and thanked God that
the lost seven had been replaced by at least one.
This Christian maiden he loved with all the warmth
of a fatherly heart, and educated her in a strictly
conscientious manner. Not one religion in pre-
ference to another, still less his own, did he instil
into the young soul of Recha, or Blanche, but only
the doctrines of pure fear of God, ideal virtue, and
morality. Such was the representative of Judaism.

How did the representative of Christianity
behave ? The Patriarch of Jerusalem, who, with
his church, was tolerated in the Mahometan city by
the magnanimous Sultan Saladin, by virtue of a
solemnly ratified treaty, meditates treacherous plans
against the sultan, concocts intrigues against him :

"But what is villainy in human eyes
May, in the sight of God, the patriarch thinks,
Not be villainy."

For Nathan, he desires to kindle a pyre, because
he has fostered, loved, and raised to a lovely,
spiritual maiden, a forsaken Christian child. With-
out the compassion of the Jew, the child would have
perished :

" That's nothing ! The Jew must still be burnt."

Daya, another representative of Church Chris-
tianity, who knows Recha's Christian origin, has
misgivings when she sees the Christian child bask-

CH. VIII. CHRISTIANITY CRITICISED. 325

ing in the warm love of a Jew. She is won over
from these scruples by costly presents, but she still
contemplates depriving Nathan of the most precious
object to which his soul clings, even though danger
should thereby befall him.

The Templar, Leon of Filnek, represents yet
another phase of Christianity. A soldier and at the
same time a cleric, who, spared by Saladin although
he had broken his word, rescues Recha, the sup-
posed Jewish maiden ; he behaves with Christian
insolence towards Nathan, speaking roughly and
harshly to him, whilst the latter is pouring forth
heartfelt gratitude for the rescue of his adopted
daughter. Then, gradually, through the wonderful
power of love, the Templar lays aside the coarse,
hateful garb of Christian prejudice. In his veins
there flows Mahometan blood. Only the holy sim-
plicity of the friar Bonafides combines human kind-
ness with monastic ecclesiasticism ; but he knows
only one duty — obedience — and at the command of
the fanatically cruel Patriarch would commit the
most horrible crimes.

These lessons Lessing preached from his theatre
pulpit to the obdurate minds of the followers of
Christ. The wise Jew, Nathan — Mendelssohn-
has arrived at the highest level of human sympathy ;
while the best Christian, the Templar, every culti-
vated Christian — the Nicolais, the Abts, the Herd-
ers— have yet to free themselves from their thick-
skinned prejudices, to attain to that height. It is a
delusion to claim the possession of the one true re-
ligion and the only means of salvation. Who pos-
sesses the real ring? How can the real one be
detected from the false ? Only by meekness, heart-
felt tolerance, true benevolence, and most fervent
devotion to God ; in short, by all those qualities
which the official Christianity of the time did not
display, and which were perfectly realized in Men-
delssohn.

326 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

In every way Lessing scourged fossilized, perse-
cuting Christianity, and glorified Judaism through
its chief representative. As if this splendid drama,
the beautiful first-fruits of German poetry, was to
belong to the Jews, although given to the world by
a Christian poet, a son of Israel aided its production.
Lessing, besieged by theological foes, and fighting
against dire necessity, would not have been able to
complete it, if, during its composition, he had not
been enabled to live without anxiety. He required
a loan, and found no helper among the Christians.
Moses Wessely, in Hamburg, the brother of the
neo-Hebraic poet, Naphtali Wessely, who afterwards
made a name for himself in Jewish history, advanced
the desired sum, although he was not a wealthy Jew,
and only wished to have the honor of possessing
something in Lessing's handwriting.

Lessing had not been wrong in thinking that this
drama would vex pious Christians much more than
ten controversial pamphlets against Goze. As soon
as it appeared (spring, 1779), intense wrath was felt
against the poet, as if he had degraded Christianity.
The " Fragments " and his polemics against Goze
had not made him so many enemies as " Nathan."
Even his friends greeted him coldly, shunned him,
excluded him from the social reunions he loved, and
left him to the persecution of his adversaries.
Through this silent excommunication he felt himself
aggrieved, lost more and more of his bright humor
and elasticity of spirit, and became wearied, down-
cast, and almost stupefied. The treatment of pious
Christians terribly embittered the last year of his
life. He died in vigorous manhood like an aged
man, a martyr to his love of truth. But his soul-
conquering voice made itself heard on behalf of tol-
erance, and gradually softened the discordant notes
of hatred and prejudice. In spite of the ban placed
upon " Nathan," as well as upon its author, both in
Protestant and Catholic countries, this drama be-

CH. VIII. INFLUENCE OF ' NATHAN. 327

came one of the most popular in German poetry,
and as often as the verses inspired by conviction
resound from the stage, they seize upon the hearts
of the audience, loosening the links of the chain of
Jew-hatred in the minds of Germans, who find it
most difficult to throw off its shackles. " Nathan "
made an impression on the mind of the German
people, which, despite unfavorable circumstances,
has not been obliterated. Twenty years before,
when Lessing produced his first drama of " The
Jews," an arrogant theologian censured it, because
it was altogether too improbable that among a
people like the Jews, so noble a character could
ever be formed. At the appearance of " Nathan"
no reader thought that a noble Jew was possible.
Even the most stubborn dared not assert so mon-
strous an absurdity. The Jewish ideal sage was a
reality, and lived in Berlin, an ornament not alone
to the Jews, but to the German nation. Without
Mendelssohn, the drama of "Nathan" would not
have been written, just as without Lessing's friend-
ship Mendelssohn would not have become what he
did to German literature and the Jewish world.
The cordiality of the intimacy between these two
friends showed itself after Lessing's death. I lis
brothers and friends, who only after his demise
realized his greatness, turned, in the anguish of
their loss, to Mendelssohn, as if it were natural that
he should be the chief mourner. And in very sooth
he was ; none of his associates preserved Lessing's
memory with so sorrowful a remembrance and
religious a reverence. He was beyond all things
solicitous to protect his former friend against mis-
apprehension and slander.

As Mendelssohn, without knowing or desiring it,
stimulated Lessing to create an ideal, and through
him helped to dispel the bias against Jews, so at
the same time, without aiming at it, he inaugurated
the spiritual regeneration of his race. The Bible,

328 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

especially the Pentateuch — the all in all of the
Jews — although very many knew it by heart, had
become as strange to them, as any unintelligible
book. Rabbinical and Kabbalistic expositors had
so distorted the simple biblical sense of the words,
that everything was found in it except the actual
contents.

Polish school-masters — there were no others —
with rod and angry gestures, instructed Jewish boys
in tender youth to discover the most absurd perver-
sities in the Holy Book, translating it into their
hateful jargon, and so confusing the text with their
own translation, that it seemed as if Moses had
spoken in the barbarous dialect of Polish Jews.

The neglect of all secular knowledge, which in-
creased with every century, had reached such a
pitch that every nonsensical oddity, even blasphemy,
was subtly read into the verses of Scripture. What
had been intended as a comfort to the soul was
changed into a poison. Mendelssohn acutely felt
this ignorance and wresting of Bible words, for he
had arrived at the enlightened view that Holy Writ
does not contain " that which Jews and Christians
believe they can find therein," and that a good, sim-
ple translation would be an important step towards
the promotion of culture among Jews. But in his
modesty and diffidence it did not occur to him to
employ these means to educate his brethren. He
compiled a translation of the Pentateuch for his
children, to give them a thorough education and to
introduce the word of God to them in an undisfig-
ured form, without troubling (as he observed)
" whether they would continue to be compelled, in
Saxe-Gotha, on every journey, to pay for their Jew-
ish heads at a game of dice, or to tell the story of
the three rings to every petty ruler." It was only
at the urgent request of a man whose word carried
weight with Mendelssohn, that he decided to pub-
lish his translation of the Pentateuch into German

CH. VIII. THE PENTATEUCH TRANSLATION. 329

(in Jewish-German characters) for Jewish readers.
It cost him an effort, however, to attach his name
to it.

He knew his Jewish public too well not to under-
stand that the translation, however excellently it
might be done, would meet with little approval, un-
less it were accompanied by a Hebrew exposition.
Of what value to the depraved taste of Jewish
readers was a book without a commentary? From
time immemorial, since commentaries and super-
commentaries had come into existence, these had
been much more admired than the most beautiful
text. Mendelssohn, therefore, obtained the assist-
ance of an educated Pole, named Solomon Dubno,
who, a praiseworthy exception to his countrymen,
was thoroughly acquainted with Hebrew grammar,
to undertake the composition of a running com-
mentary. The work was begun by securing the
necessary subscribers, without whom no book could
at that time be issued. It became apparent that
Mendelssohn had already many supporters and ad-
mirers among his brethren, within and beyond Ger-
many. His undertaking, which was to remove from
the Jews the reproach of ignorance of their own lit-
erature, and of speaking a corrupt language, was
hailed with joy. Most of the subscribers came from
Berlin and Mendelssohn's native town, Dessau,
which was indeed proud of him. From Poland also
orders for the Germanized "Torah" arrived, mostly
from Wilna, where Elijah Wilna, to a certain extent
a liberal thinker, and the visionary perversities of
the New-Chassidim had drawn attention to the
Holy Scriptures. As a sign of the times, it may
also be noticed that the translation was purchased
by Christians, professors, pastors, court preachers,
consistorial councilors, court councilors, and the
nobility. Mendelssohn's Christian friends were,
indeed, extraordinarily active in promoting his work.
Eliza Reimarus, Lessing's noble friend, even col-
lected subscriptions.

330 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

Glad as were Mendelssohn's admirers to receive
the news of a Pentateuch translation from his hand,
so disturbed were the rigid adherents to antiquity
and obsolete habit. They felt vividly, without being
able to think it out clearly, that the old times, with
their ingenuous credulity — which regarded every-
thing with unquestioned faith as an emanation from
a Divine source — would now sink into the grave.

No sooner was a specimen of the translation
published, than the rabbis of the old school were
prejudiced against it, and planned how to keep the
enemy from the house of Jacob. To these oppo-
nents of Mendelssohn's enterprise belonged men
who brought honor upon Judaism, not alone by
their Rabbinical scholarship and keen intellects, but
also by their nobility of character. There were es-
pecially three men, Poles by birth, who had as little
appreciation of the innovations of the times as of
beauty of form and purity of speech. One of them,
Ezekiel Landau (chief rabbi of Prague, from the
year 1752; died in 1793), enjoyed great respect
both within and outside his community. He was a
clever man, and learned in time to swim with the
tide. The second, Raphael Cohen, the grandfather
of Riesser (born 1722, died 1803), who had emi-
grated from Poland, and had been called from Posen
to the rabbinate of the three communities of Ham-
burg, Altona, and Wandsbeck, was a firm, decided
character, without guile or duplicity, who as judge
meted out justice without respect to persons, con-
sidering justice the support of God's throne. The
third and youngest was Hirsch Janow, a son-in-law
of Raphael Cohen, who, on account of his profound
acumen in Talmudical discussions, was called the
"keen scholar" (born 1750, died 1785). His acute
mind was equally versed in the intricate problems
of mathematics as in those of the Talmud. He was
thoroughly unselfish, the trifling income that he re-
ceived from the impoverished community of Posen

CH. VIII. OBJECTIONS TO THE TRANSLATION. 33!

he gave away to the unfortunate ; he distributed
alms with open-handed benevolence, and without
asking" questions whether the recipients were ortho-
dox or heretics, whilst he himself starved. He con-
tracted debts to save the needy from misery.
Solomon Maimon, a deep thinker, who had oppor-
tunities of knowing men from their worst side,
called this rabbi of Posen and Fiirth "a godly man,"
an epithet not to be considered an exaggeration
from such lips. To these three rabbis a fourth kin-
dred spirit may be added, Phineas Levi Hurwitz
(born 1740; died 1802), rabbi of Frankfort-on-the-
Main, also a Pole, educated in the Chassidean
school. These men, and others who thought like
them, and who regarded the perusal of a German
book as a grievous sin, from their point of view
were right in opposing Mendelssohn's innovation.
They perceived that the Jewish youth would learn
the German lancaia^e from the Mendelssohn trans-

<^ *j

lation more than an understanding of the "Torah";
that the former would strongly tend to become the
chief object of study ; the attention to Holy Writ
would degenerate into an unimportant secondary
matter, whilst the study of the Talmud would be
completely suppressed. Though Mendelssohn him-
self enjoyed good repute from a religious point of
view, his adherents and supporters were not invar-
iably free from reproach. Unworthy men, who had
broken with Judaism, and conceitedly termed them-
selves Mendelssohnians, were energetic in advanc-
ing the sale of the translation, and thus brought it
into suspicion with the rigidly orthodox party.

Raphael Cohen, of Hamburg, a man of hasty
temper, was the most zealous agitator against the
German version of the Bible. But as Mendelssohn
had relatives on his wife's side in this town, and
also many admirers, no action could be taken
against him there or in Prague, where there were
freethinkers among the Jews. Fiirth, therefore,

332 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

was looked upon as the fittest place whence the in-
terdict (about June, 1779) against "the German
Pentateuch of Moses of Dessau" should be
launched. All true to Judaism were forbidden, un-
der penalty of excommunication, to use this trans-
lation.

Meanwhile the conflict between the old and the
new Judaism was conducted with calmness, and no
violent symptoms showed themselves. If Jacob
Emden had been alive, the contest would have raged
more fiercely, and evoked more disturbance. Men-
delssohn was too unselfish, too gentle and philoso-
phically tranquil to grow excited on hearing of the
ban against his undertaking, or to solicit the aid of
his Christian friends of high rank in silencing his
opponents. He was prepared for opposition.
" As soon as I yielded to Dubno to have my trans-
lation printed, I placed my soul in my hands, raised
my eyes to the mountains, and gave my back to the
smiters." He regarded the play of human passions
and excessive ardor for religion as natural phenom-
ena, which demanded quiet observation. He did
not wish to disturb this peaceful observation by ex-
ternal influence, by threats and prohibitions, or by
the interference of the temporal power. " Perhaps
a little excitement serves the best interests of the
enterprise nearest to my heart." He suggested
that if his version had been received without oppo-
sition, its superfluity would have been proved.
" The more the so-called wise men of the day ob-
ject to it, the more necessary it is. At first, I only
intended it for ordinary people, but now I find that
it is much more needful for rabbis." On the part of
his opponents, however, no decided efforts were
made to suppress his translation, which appeared
to them so dangerous, or to denounce its author.
Only in certain Polish towns, such as Posen and
Lissa, it was forbidden, and it is said to have been
publicly committed to the flames. Violent action

CH. VIII. THE " BERLIN RELIGION." 333

was to be feared only from the indiscreet, resolute
Rabbi Raphael Cohen. He seems, however, to
have delayed action until the whole appeared, in
order to obtain proofs of deserved condemnation.
Mendelssohn, therefore, sought help to counteract
his zeal. He prevailed upon his friend, Augustus
von Hennigs, Danish state councilor and brother-
in-law of his intimate friend, Eliza Reimarus, to try
to induce the king of Denmark and certain courtiers
to become subscribers to the work ; this would
quench the ardor of the zealot. Hennigs, a man of
hasty action, forthwith turned to the Danish minis-
ter, Von Guldberg, to fulfill the request of Mendels-
sohn. To his astonishment and Mendelssohn's, he
received an insulting reply, to the effect that the
king and his illustrious brothers were prepared to
subscribe if the minister could assure them that the
translation contained nothing against the inspira-
tion and truth of the Holy Scriptures, so that the
Jews might not afterwards say " that Moses Men-
delssohn was an adherent to the (ill-famed) religion
of Berlin."

This " Berlin religion " was at the time the terror
of the orthodox, both in the Church and the Syna-
gogue, and it cannot be said to have been an idle
fear. To keep at a distance this scoffing tendency
against religion, over-zealous rabbis tried to block
every possible avenue of approach to the houses of
the Jews. Events of the immediate future proved
that the rabbis were not pursuing a phantom.
Mendelssohn, in his innocent piety, did not recog-
nize the enemy, although it passed to and fro
through his own house. At length, the interdict
against Mendelssohn's translation of the Pentateuch
was promulgated by Raphael Cohen (July i/th); it
was directed against all Jews who read the nr\v
version. The author himself was not excommuni-
cated, either out of consideration for his prominence,
or from weakness and half-heartedness. However,

334 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

before the blow fell, Mendelssohn had warded off
its consequences. He persuaded Von Hennigs that
he need have no scruples about obtaining the king's
subscription for the translation, and it was done.
At the head of the list of contributors stood the
names of King Christian of Denmark and the Crown
Prince. By this means Raphael Cohen was
effectually foiled in his endeavors to condemn and
destroy a work which he regarded as heretical.

His adversaries nevertheless struck Mendelssohn
a blow, to hinder the completion of the translation.
They succeeded in alienating Solomon Dubno, his
right-hand man, which caused Mendelssohn serious
perplexity. That his work might not remain unfin-
ished, he had to undertake the commentary to the
Pentateuch himself, but finding the work beyond his-
strength he was obliged to seek for assistants. In
Wessely he found a co-operator of similar dispo-
sition to his own ; but he did not care to undertake
the whole burden, and thus Mendelssohn was com-
pelled to entrust a portion to Herz Homberg, his
son's tutor, and to another Pole, Aaron Jaroslav.
The former was not altogether a congenial asso-
ciate. He knew that Homberg in his heart was
estranged from Judaism, and that he would not
execute the holy work according to his method and
as a sacred duty, as he himself felt it to be. But he
had no alternative. Owing to Homberg's partici-
pation in the work, the translation, finished in 1 783,
was discredited by the orthodox ; and they desired
to exclude it altogether from Jewish houses.

This severity roused opposition. Forbidden fruit
tastes sweet. Youthful students of the Talmud
seized upon the German translation behind the
backs of their masters, who depreciated the new in-
fluence, and in secret learned at once the most
elementary and the most sublime lessons — the Ger-
man language and the philosophy of religion,
Hebrew grammar and poetry. A new view of the

CH. VIII. INFLUENCE OF THE TRANSLATION. 335

world was opened to them. The Hebrew com-
mentary served as a guide to a proper understand-
ing of the translation. As if touched by a magic
wand, the Talmud students, fossils of the musty
schoolhouses, were transfigured, and upon the wings
of the intellect they soared above the gloomy present,
and took their flight heavenwards. An insatiable
desire for knowledge took possession of them ; no
territory, however dark, remained inaccessible to
them. The acumen, quick comprehension, and pro-
found penetrativeness, which these youths had ac-
quired in their close study of the Talmud, rendered
it easy for them to take their position in the newly-
discovered world. Thousands of Talmud students
from the great schools of Hamburg, Prague, Nikols-
burg, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Fiirth, and even from
Poland, became little Menclelssohns ; many of them
eloquent, profound thinkers. With them Judaism
renewed its youth. All who, towards the end of the
eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth cen-
tury, were in various ways public workers, had up
to a certain period in their lives been one-sided
Talmudists, and needed the inspiration of Mendels-
sohn's example to become exponents and promoters
of culture among Jews. In a very short time a
numerous band of Jewish authors arose, who wrote
in a clear Hebrew or German style upon matters
of which shortly before they had had no knowledge.
The Mendelssohn translation speedily resulted in a
veritable renaissance of the Jews. They found their
level in European civilization more quickly than the
Germans, and — what should not be overlooked-
Talmuclic schooling had sharpened their intelligence.
Mendelssohn's translation of the Pentateuch, to-
gether with his paraphrase of the Psalms, has pro-
duced more good than that of Luther, because in-
stead of fossilizing, it animated the mind. The inner
freedom of the Jews, as has been said, dates from
this translation.

336 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

The beginning of the outward liberation of the
Jews from the cruel bondage of thousands of years
was also connected with Mendelssohn's name, and
like his activity for their internal freedom was un-
conscious, without violence or calculation. It seems
a miracle, though no marvelous occurrence accom-
panied it. It secured to the Jews two advocates,
than whom none more zealous, none warmer could
be desired : these were Lessing and Dohm.

Since the middle of the eighteenth century the
attention of the cultured world had been directed
towards the Jews without any action on their part.
Montesquieu, the first to penetrate to the profound
depths of human laws and reveal their spirit, was
also the first to raise his weighty voice against the
barbarous treatment of the Jews. In his widely-read,
suggestive work, " Spirit of the Laws," he had dem-
onstrated, with convincing arguments, the harm that
the ill-treatment of the Jews had caused to states,
and branded the cruelty of the Inquisition with an
ineradicable stigma. The piercing cry of agony of
a tortured Marrano at sight of a stake prepared for
a "Judaizing" maiden of eighteen years of age in
Lisbon had aroused Montesquieu, and the echo of
his voice resounded throughout Europe.

"You Christians complain that the Emperor of China roasts all
Christians in his dominions over a slow fire. You behave much
worse towards Jews, because they do not believe as you do. If any
of our descendants should ever venture to say that the nations of
Europe were cultured, your example will be adduced to prove that
they were barbarians. The picture that they will draw of you will
certainly stain your age, and spread abroad hatred of all your con-
temporaries."

Montesquieu had rediscovered the true idea of
justice, which mankind had lost. But how difficult
was it to cause this idea to be fully recognized with
reference to Jews !

Two events had brought the Jews, their concerns,
their present, and their past before public notice :
their demand for a legal standing in England, and

CH. VIII. THE ENGLISH NATURALIZATION ACT. 337

Voltaire's attacks upon them. In England, where
a century before they had, as it were, crept in, they
formed a separate community, especially in the cap-
ital, without being tolerated or recognized by law.
They were regarded as foreigners — as Spaniards,
Portuguese, Dutchmen, or Germans, and had to pay
the alien duty. However, the authorities, especially
the judges, showed regard for the Jewish belief ; for
instance, they did not summon Jewish witnesses
on the Sabbath. After the Jews settled in the
American colonies of England had been naturalized,
a bill was presented in Parliament by merchants
and manufacturers, Jews and their friends, to be
sure, begging that they be treated as natives of
England, without being compelled to obtain civil
rights by taking the sacrament, as the law pre-
scribed. Pelham, the minister, supported the peti-
tion, and pointed out the advantages that would ac-
crue to the country by the large capital of the Por-
tuguese Jews and their warm attachment to England.
By their opponents, however, partly self-interest,
partly religious prejudices were brought to bear
against them. It was urged that, placed on an equal
footing with English citizens, the Jews would acquire
the whole wealth of the kingdom, would obtain pos-
session of all the landed property, and disinherit
Christians : the latter would be their slaves, and the
Jews would choose their own rulers and kings.
Orthodox literalists argued that according to Chris-

O c5

tian prophecies they were to remain without a home
until gathered to the land of their fathers. Sur-
prisingly enough, a bill was passed by the Upper
House permitting Jews who had resided in England
or Ireland for three consecutive years to be natural-
ized ; but they were not to occupy any secular or
clerical office, nor to receive the Parliamentary fran-
chise. The lords and the bishops, then, were not
opposed to the Jews. The majority of the Lower
House also agreed to the bill, and George II ratified

338 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

it (March, 1753). Was the decision of the Three
Estates really the expression of the majority of the
nation ? This at once became doubtful : impreca-
tions were immediately thundered from pulpits,
guilds, and the taverns against the ministry which
had urged the Naturalization Act for Jews. In our
days it seems hardly credible that the London mer-
chants should have feared the ruin of their trade by
the influx of Jewish capitalists. Deacon Josiah
Tucker, who took the part of the Jews, and defended
the Naturalization Act, was attacked by the oppo-
sition in Parliament, in the newspapers, and in
pamphlets, and his effigy, together with his defense
of the Jews, was burnt at Bristol. To the vexation
of the liberal-minded, the ministry were weak
enough to yield to the clamor of the populace arising
from mercantile jealousy and fanatical intolerance,
and to annul their own work (1754) " because it had
provoked displeasure, and the minds of many loyal
subjects had been disquieted thereby." For, even
the most violent enemies of the act could not impute
evil to the Jews of England ; they created a good
impression upon Englishmen by their riches, ac-
cumulated without usury, and by their noble bearing.
Public opinion warmly sided with them and their
claims for civil equality, and if, for the moment,
these were disregarded, yet no unfavorable result
ensued.

The second occurrence, although originating in a
single person, roused even more attention than the
action of the English Parliament towards the Jews.
This person was Arouet de Voltaire, king in the
domain of literature in the eighteenth century, who
with his demoniacal laughter blew down like a house
of cards the stronghold of the Middle Ages. He,
who believed neither in Providence nor in the moral
progress of mankind, was a mighty instrument of
history in the advancement of progress. Voltaire —
in his writings an entrancing wizard, a sage, in his

CH. VIII. VOLTAIRE AND THE JEWS. 339

life a fool, the slave of base passions — picked a
quarrel with the Jews, and sneered at them and their
past. His hostility arose from personal ill-humor
and irritability. He maintained that during his stay
in London he lost eighty per cent of a loan of
25,000 francs, through the bankruptcy of a Jewish
capitalist named Medina. He cannot, however,
always be believed.

" Medina told me that he was not to blame for his bankruptcy :
that he was unfortunate, that he had never been a son of Belial.
He moved me, I embraced him, we praised God together, and I lost
my money. I have never hated the Jewish nation ; I hate nobody."

Yet, a low-minded Harpagon, who clung to his
money, Voltaire, on account of this large or small
loss, hated not only this Jew, but all Jews on earth.
A second incident excited him still more against
them. When Voltaire was in Berlin and Potsdam
as court poet, literary mentor, and attendant of
King Frederick, who both admired and detested
this diabolical genius, he gave a filthy commission
to a Jewish jeweler, named Hirsch, or Hirschel
(1750), which he afterwards, at the instigation of a
rival in the trade, named Ephraim Veitel, wished to
withdraw. Friction arose between Voltaire and
Hirschel, until some arrangement was made, which
the former afterwards desired to evade. In a word,
Voltaire practiced a series of mean tricks upon his
Jewish tradesman : cheated him about some dia-
monds, abused him, lied, forged documents, and
acted as if he were the injured party. At length a
complicated lawsuit sprang from these proceedings.
King Frederick, who had obtained information of
all this from the legal documents, and from a pam-
phlet, written ostensibly by Hirsch, in reality by
Voltaire's enemies, was highly enraged with tin
poet and philosopher scamp. He resolved to ban-
ish him from Prussia, and wrote against him a com-
edy in French verse, called "Tantalus in the Law
suit." Voltaire's quarrel with the Prussian Jew

340 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

created a sensation, and provided ample material
for the mischievous delight of his opponents.

Next to avarice, revenge was a prominent feat-
ure in his character. It was too trifling for Voltaire
to avenge himself upon the individual Jew who had
contributed to his humiliation ; he determined to
make the whole Jewish nation feel his hatred.
Whenever he had an opportunity of speaking of
Judaism or Jews, he bespattered the Jews of the
past and the present with his obscene satire. This
accorded with his method of warfare. Christianity,
which he thoroughly hated and despised, could not
be attacked openly without rendering the aggressor
liable to severe punishment. Judaism, the parent
of Christianity, therefore served as the target,
against which he hurled his elegant, lightly bran-
dished, but venomous darts. In one of his essays
particularly he poured forth his gall against Jews
and Judaism.

This partial and superficial estimate of the Jews,
this summary judgment of a whole people, and a
history of a thousand years, irritated many truth-
loving men ; but no one dared provoke a quarrel
with so dreaded an antagonist as Voltaire. It re-
quired a bold spirit, but it was hazarded by a cul-
tured Jew, named Isaac Pinto, more from skillfully-
calculated motives than from indignation at Voltaire's
baseless defamation. Pinto (born in Bordeaux,
1715; died in Amsterdam, 1787) belonged to a
Portuguese Marrano family, was rich, cultivated,
noble, and disinterested in his own affairs ; but suf-
fered from pardonable egoism, namely, on behalf
of the community. After leaving Bordeaux he set-
tled in Amsterdam, where he not only served the
Portuguese community, but also advanced large
sums of money to the government of Holland, and
therefore held an honorable position. He always
took warm interest in the congregation in which
he had been born, and assisted it by word and

CH. VIII. PORTUGUESE JEWS IN FRANCE. 34!

deed. But his heart was most devoted to the Por-
tuguese Jews, his brethren by race and speech ; on
the other hand, he was indifferent and cold towards
the Jews of the German and Polish tongues ; he
looked down upon them with disdainful pride, as
Christians of rank upon lowly Jews. Nobility of
mind and pride of race were intimately combined in
Pinto. In certain unpleasant matters in which the
Portuguese community of Bordeaux had become
entangled, he displayed, on the one hand, ardent
zeal, on the other, hardness of heart. In this pros-
perous commercial town, since the middle of the
sixteenth century, there had flourished a congrega-
tion of fugitive Marranos, who had fled from the
prisons and the autos-da-fe of the Spanish and Por-
tuguese Inquisition. These refugees had brought
considerable capital and an enterprising spirit, and
thus secured right of residence and certain privil-
eges, but only under the name of new-Christians or
Portuguese merchants. For a time they were
forced to undergo the hypocrisy of having their
marriages solemnized in the churches. Their num-
bers gradually increased; in two centuries (1550—
1750) the congregation of Bordeaux had grown to
200 families, or 500 souls. The majority of the
Portuguese Jews, or new-Christians, of Bordeaux,
kept large banking-houses, engaged in the manu-
facture of arms, equipped ships, or undertook trans-
marine business with French colonies. To their
importance as merchants and ship-owners they
united staunch uprightness, blameless honesty in
business, liberality towards Jews and non-Jews, and
the dignity which they had brought from the Pyre-
nean peninsula, their unnatural mother-country.
Thus they gained respect and distinction among
the Christian inhabitants of Bordeaux, and the
French court as well as the high officials connived
at their presence, and gradually came to recognize
them as Jews. The important mercantile town also

342 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

attracted German Jews from Alsace, and French
Jews from Avignon, under papal government, who
obtained the right to settle by paying large sums
of money. The Portuguese Jews were jealous ;
they feared that they would be placed on a level
with these co-religionists, who were little educated,
and engaged in petty trading or monetary trans-
actions, and that they would lose their honorable
reputation. Induced by these selfish motives they
exerted themselves to have the immigrant German
and Avignon Jews expelled from the town, by ap-
pealing to the old edict that Jews mighfnot dwell
in France. But the exiles contrived to gain the
protection of influential persons at court, and thus
obtained the privilege of sojourn. Through the
connivance of the authorities, 152 foreign Jews had
already flocked to Bordeaux, several of whom had
powerful friends. This was a thorn in the side of
the Portuguese, and to hinder the influx of stran-
gers, they passed (1760) an illiberal communal law
against their foreign co-religionists. They branded
every foreign Jew not of Portuguese origin as a
vagrant and a beggar, and as a burden to the
wealthy. They calumniated the strangers, assert-
ing that they followed dishonorable, fraudulent oc-
cupations, and thereby predisposed the citizens and
authorities against them. According to their pro-
posal, Portuguese Jews, or their council, should be
vested with the right to expel the foreign Jews, or
"vagrants," from the town within three days. This
cruel and heartless statute had to be confirmed by
King Louis XV. It was not difficult to obtain from
this monarch, who was ruled by his wives and his
courtiers, the most inhuman petitions. A friend
and kinsman of Isaac Pinto undertook to get the
sanction of the court for this statute.

This was Jacob Rodrigues Pereira (born in Spain,
1715; died in Paris, 1780), grandfather of the fam-
ous and enterprising Emile and Isaac Pereira, a

CH. VIII. JACOB PEREIRA. 343

man of talent and noble character, and an artist of a
peculiar kind, who had obtained wide renown. He
had invented a sign language for the deaf and
dumb, and taught these unfortunate people a means
of expressing their thoughts. As a Marrano, he
had taught the deaf and dumb in Spain. Love for
the religion of his ancestors, or hatred of the blood-
thirsty Catholic Church impelled him to leave the
land of the Inquisition (about 1734), and, together
with his mother and sister, to emigrate to Bor-
deaux. Here, even before Abbe de 1'Epee, he so
thoroughly verified his theory for the instruction of
those born dumb, in a specially appointed school,
that the king conferred a reward, and the first men
of science — D'Alembert, Buffon, Diderot, and Rous-
seau— lavished praises upon him. Pereira after-
wards became royal interpreter and member of the
Royal Society in London. The Portuguese com-
munity of Bordeaux appointed him their represen-
tative in Paris, to ventilate their complaints and
accomplish their ends. Moved with sympathy for
the unfortunate, he was yet so filled with communal
egoism, that he did not hesitate to inflict injury
upon his German and Avignon co-religionists.
The commission to secure from Louis XV the rati-
fication of the proposed statute, he carried out but
too conscientiously. But in the disorderly govern-
ment of this king and his court there was a vast
difference between the passing and the administer-
ing of a law. The higher officials were able to cir-
cumvent any law or defer its execution. The ex-
pulsion of the lews of German and Avignon origin

•J ^> fj

from Bordeaux lay in the hands of the governor,
the Due de Richelieu. Isaac Pinto, who was on in-
timate terms with him, was able to win his support.
Richelieu issued an urgent command (November,
1761) that within two weeks all foreign Jews should
be banished from Bordeaux. Exception was made
only in favor of two old men and women whom the

344 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

hardships of the expulsion would have killed, and
of a man who had been of service to the town
(Jacob de Perpignan). All the rest were plunged
into unavoidable distress, as it was forbidden to
Jews to settle anywhere in France, and the districts
and towns where Jews already dwelt admitted no
new-comers. What a difference between the Ger-
man Jew Moses Mendelssohn and the Portuguese
Jews Isaac Pinto and Rodrigues Pereira, who in
their time were ranked side by side ! The former
did not cease his efforts, until by his influence he
brought help to his unhappy brethren, or at least
offered them comfort. For the Jews in Switzerland,
who were tolerated only in two small towns, and
even there were so enslaved that they must have
died out, Mendelssohn procured some alleviation
through his opponent Lavater. Several hundred
Jews were about to be expelled from Dresden, be-
cause they could not pay the poll-tax laid upon
them. Through Mendelssohn's intercession with
one of his numerous admirers, Cabinet Councilor
Von Ferber, the unfortunate people obtained per-
mission to remain in Dresden. To a Jewish Tal-
mudical scholar unjustly suspected of theft and
imprisoned in Leipsic, Mendelssohn cleverly con-
trived to send a letter of consolation, whereby
he gained his freedom. Isaac Pinto and Jacob
Pereira, on the other hand, were zealous in
bringing about the expulsion of their brethren by
race and religion, which Mendelssohn considered
the hardest punishment of the Jews, " equal to an-
nihilation from the face of God's earth, where
armed prejudice repulses them at every frontier."

The cruel proceedings of the Portuguese Jews
against their brethren in Bordeaux made a great
stir. If Jews might not tarry in France, why should
those of Portuguese tongue be tolerated ? The
latter, therefore, saw themselves compelled to put
themselves in a favorable light, and requested Isaac

CH. VIII. PINTO S DEFENSE. 345

Pinto, who had already appeared in public, and
possessed literary culture, to write a sort of vindi-
cation for them, and make clear the wide difference
between Jews of Portuguese descent and those of
other lands. Pinto consented, or rather followed
his own inclination, and prepared the " Reflections "
upon Voltaire's defamation of Judaism (1762). He
told this reckless calumniator that the crime of
libeling single individuals was increased when the
false accusations affected a whole nation, and
reached its highest degree when directed against a
people insulted by all men, and when the responsi-
bility for the misdeeds of a few is laid upon the
whole body, whose members, moreover, widely
scattered, have assumed the character of the
inhabitants of the country in which they live.
An English Jew as little resembles his co-relig-
ionist of Constantinople, as the latter does a Chi-
nese mandarin ; the Jew of Bordeaux and he of
Metz are two utterly different beings. Neverthe-
less, Voltaire had indiscriminately condemned them,
and his sketch of them was as absurd as untrue.
Voltaire, who felt called upon to extirpate preju-
dices, had in fact lent his pen to the greatest of
them. He does not indeed wish them to be burnt,
but a number of Jews would rather be burnt than
so calumniated. " The Jews are not more ignorant,
more barbarous, or superstitious than other nations,
least of all do they merit the accusation of avarice."
Voltaire owed a duty to the Jews, to truth, to his
century, and to posterity, which would justly appeal
to his authority when abusing and trying to crush
an exceedingly unhappy people.

However, as already said, it was not so much
Pinto's aim to vindicate the whole of the Jewish
world against Voltaire's malicious charges as to
place his kinsmen, the Portuguese or Sephardic
Jews, in a more favorable light. To this end, lu:
pretended that a wide gulf existed between thrm

346 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

and those of other extraction, especially the German
and Polish Jews. He averred, with great exagger-
ation, that if a Sephardic Jew in England or Holland
wedded a German Jewess, he would be excluded
from the community by his relatives, and would not
even find a resting-place in their cemetery. This
arose from the fact that the Portuguese Jews traced
their lineage from the noblest families of the tribe
of Judah, and that their noble descent had always
in Spain and Portugal been an impulse to great vir-
tues and a protection against vice and crime.
Among them no traces of the wickedness or evil
deeds of which Voltaire accused them were to be
found. On the contrary, they had brought wealth
to the states which received them, especially to Hol-
land. The German and Polish Jews, on the other
hand, Pinto abandoned to the attacks of their de-
tractors, except that he excused their not over
honorable trades and despicable actions by the
overwhelming sufferings, the slavery, and humiliation
which they had endured, and were still enduring.
He succeeded in obtaining what he had desired. In
reply, Voltaire paid him and the Portuguese Jews
compliments, and admitted that he had done wrong
in including them in his charges, but nevertheless
continued to abuse Jewish antiquity.

Pinto's defense attracted great attention. The
press, both French and English, pronounced a
favorable judgment, and espoused the cause of the
Jews against Voltaire. But they blamed Pinto for
having been too partial to the Portuguese, and too
strongly opposed to the German and Polish Jews,
and, like Voltaire, passing sentence upon all indis-
criminately, because of the behavior of a few indi-
viduals. A Catholic priest under a Jewish disguise
took up the cause of Hebrew antiquity. He ad-
dressed " Jewish Letters " to Voltaire, pretending
that they came from Portuguese and German Jews ;
these were well meant but badly composed. They

CH. VIII. JEW HATRED IN ALSACE. 347

were widely read, and helped to turn the current
of public opinion in favor of the Jews against
Voltaire's savage attacks. They did not fail to re-
mind him that owing to loss of money sustained
through one Jew he pursued the whole race with his
anger. This friendly pamphlet on behalf of the
Jews being written in French, then the fashionable
language, it was extensively read and discussed, and
found a favorable reception.

Sympathy for the Jews and the movement to ele-
vate them from their servile position were most
materially stimulated by a persecution which humane
thinkers of the time considered surprising and un-
expected, but which has often been repeated in the
midst of Christian nations. This persecution kindled
passions on both sides, and awakened men to
activity. In no part of Europe, perhaps, were the
oppression and abasement of Jews greater than in
the originally German, but at that time French pro-
vince of Alsace, to which Metz may be reckoned.
All causes of inveterate Jew-hatred — clerical intol-
erance, racial antipathy, arbitrariness of the nobility,
mercantile jealousy, and brute ignorance — were
combined against the Jews of Alsace, to render their
existence in the century of enlightenment a con-
tinual hell. Yet the oppression was so paltry in its
nature that it could never stimulate the Jews to offer
heroic resistance. The German populace of this
province, like Germans in general, clung tenaciously
to their hatred of the Jews. Both the nobles and
citizens of Alsace turned a deaf ear to the voice of
humanity, which spoke so eloquently in French liter-
ature, and would not abate one jot of their legal
rights over the Jews, who were treated as serfs. In
Alsace there lived from three to four thousand Jew-
ish families (from fifteen to twenty thousand souls).
It was in the power of the nobility to admit new, or
expel old families. In Metz the merchants had had
a law passed limiting Jews to four hundred and

348 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

eighty families. This condition of affairs had the
same consequences as in Austria and Prussia :
younger sons were condemned to celibacy, or exile
from their paternal home, and daughters to remain
unmarried. In fact, it was worse than in Austria
and elsewhere, because German pedantry carefully
looked to the execution of these rigorous Pharaonic
laws, and stealthily watched the French officials, lest
any attempt be made to show indulgence towards
the unfortunate people. Naturally the Jews of Al-
sace and Metz were enclosed in Ghettos, and could
only occasionally pass through the other parts of the
towns. For these privileges they were compelled
to pay exorbitant taxes.

Louis XIV had presented a portion of his income
derived from the Jews of Metz as a gift to the Due
de Brancas and the Countess de Fontaine. They
had to pay these persons 20,000 livres annually ;
besides poll-taxes, trade-taxes, house-taxes, con-
tributions to churches and hospitals, war-taxes, and
exactions of every sort under other names.

In Alsace they were obliged to pay protection-
money to the king, tribute to the bishop of Stras-
burg, and the duke of Hagenau, besides residence-
taxes to the nobles in whose feudal territory they
dwelt, and war-taxes. The privilege of residence
did not descend to the eldest son, but had to be pur-
chased from the nobleman, as if the son were a for-
eign applicant for protection. The Jews had to win
the good opinion, not alone of their lord, but also of
his officials, by rich gifts at New Year, and on other
occasions. Whence could they procure all these
moneys, and still support their synagogues and
schools ?

Almost every handicraft and trade were forbid-
den them in Alsace : legally they could engage
only in cattle-dealing, and in trading in gold and
silver. In Metz the Jews were allowed to kill only
such animals as they required for private consump-

CH. VIII. RESTRICTIONS IN ALSACE. 349

tion, and* the appointed slaughterers had to keep a
list of the animals slain. If they wished to make a
journey outside their narrow province, they had to
pay a poll-tax, and were subjected to the vexations
of passports. In Strasburg, the capital of the pro-
vince, no Jew could stay over night. What re-
mained but to obtain the money indispensable for
their wretched existence in an illegal way — through
usury ? Those who possessed money made advan-
ces to the small tradesmen, farmers, and vinedress-
ers, at the risk of losing the amounts lent, and
demanded high interest, or employed other artifices.
This only caused them to be more hated, and the
growing impoverishment of the people was attri-
buted to them, and was the source of their unspeak-
able sufferings. They were in the sad position of
being compelled to make themselves and others
unhappy.

This miserable condition of the Alsatian Jews a
villainous man sought to turn to his own advantage,
and he almost brought on a sanguinary persecution.
A lawyer, not without brains and literary culture,
named Hell, belonging to a poor family, and ar-
dently wishing for a high position, being acquainted
with the devices of the Jewish usurers, actually
learned the Hebrew language, to be able to levy
blackmail on them without fear of discovery. He
sent threatening letters in Hebrew, saying that
they would inevitably be accused of usury and de-
ception, if they did not supply him with a stated
sum of money. This worthless lawyer afterwards
became district judge to several Alsatian noblemen,
and thus the Jews were given wholly into his power.
Those who did not satisfy his continually increasing
demands, were accused, ill-treated, and condemned.
Meantime his unjust conduct was partially exposed
he was suspected, and this excited him against the
Jews of Alsace. He devised a plan to arouse fana-
ticism against them. He pointed out to debtors a

350 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

way to escape the oppressive debts which they
owed Jewish money-lenders, by producing false re-
ceipts as for payments already rendered. Some of
his creatures traveled through Alsace, and wrote
out such acquittances. Conscientious debtors had
their scruples silenced by the clergy, who assured
them that robbing the Jews was a righteous act.
The timid were pacified by a rogue especially des-
patched for that purpose, who distributed orders
and crosses, presumably in the name of the king, to
those who accepted and presented the false receipts,
and were ready to accuse the Jews of oppression
and duplicity. Thus a menacing feeling, bordering
on actual violence, developed against the Jews of
Alsace. The debtors united with common ruffians
and clergymen to implore the weak-minded king
Louis XVI, to put an end to all disturbances by
expelling the Jews from the province. To crown
his work, the villainous district magistrate strove
to exasperate the populace against them. He
composed a venomous work against them (1779),
" Observations of an Alsatian upon the Present
Quarrels of the Jews of Alsace," in which he col-
lected all the slanderous accusations against Jews
from ancient times, in order to present a repulsive
picture of them, and expose them to hatred and ex-
termination. He admitted that receipts had been
forged, but this was in consequence of the decrees
of Providence, to whom alone vengeance was be-
coming. They hoped by these means to avenge
the crucifixion of Jesus, the murder of God. This
district judge aimed at the annihilation, or, at least,
the expulsion of the Jews. But the spirit of tolera-
tion had acquired sufficient strength to prevent the
success of such cunning designs. His base tricks
were revealed, and, at the command of the king,
Hell was imprisoned, and afterwards banished from
Alsace. A decree of the sovereign ordered (May,
1780) that lawsuits against usurers should no longer

CH. VIII. CHRISTIAN WILLIAM DOHM. 351

be decided by the district courts of the nobility, but
by the chief councilor, or state councilor (Conseil
Souverain) of Alsace.

One result of these occurrences was that the
Alsatian Jews finally roused themselves, and ven-
tured to state that their position was intolerable,
and to entreat relief from the throne of the gentle
king Louis XVI. Their representatives (Cerf
Berr?) drew up a memorial to the state council
upon the inhuman laws under which they groaned,
and made proposals for the amelioration of their
lot. They felt, however, that this memorial should
be written so as to influence public opinion, at this
time almost as powerful as the king himself. But
in their midst there was no man of spirit and ability
who could compose a fitting description of their
condition.

To whom could they turn except to Mendelssohn,
looked upon by European Jews as their advocate
and powerful supporter in distress ? To him, there-
fore, the Alsatian Jews — or, more correctly, their
distinguished representative Cerf Berr, who knew
Mendelssohn — sent the material with the request,
to give the necessary polish and an impressive
form to their petition. Mendelssohn had neither
the leisure, nor perhaps the skill to carry out their
request. Fortunately, he had found a new friend
and admirer, who, by knowledge and position, was
better able to formulate such a memorial. Christ-
ian William Dohm (b. 1751, d. 1820), owing to his
thorough knowledge of history, had shortly before
been appointed by Frederick the Great — with the
title of military councilor — to superintend the
archives. Like all ambitious youths and men who
frequented Berlin, Dohm had sought out the Jew-
ish philosopher, at this time at the summit of his
fame ; and like all who entered his circle Dohm
felt himself attracted by his intellectuality, gentle-
ness, and great wisdom. During his stay in Berlin

352 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

he was a regular visitor at the house of Mendels-
sohn, who, on Saturday, his day of leisure, always
assembled his friends around him. Every cultivated
Christian who came in contact with Mendelssohn
was pleasantly attracted by him, overcame his bias
against Jews, and experienced mingled admiration
and sympathy for a race that had endured so much
suffering, and produced such a personality. Dohm
had already thrown aside his innate or acquired an-
tipathy against Jews. His interest in mankind
rested not upon the shifting ground of Christian
love, but upon the firm soil of human culture, char-
acteristic of the eighteenth century, and included
also this unhappy people. He had already planned
to make the "history of the Jewish nation since the
destruction of their own state " the subject of his
studies.

Dohm evinced his readiness to draw up the mem-
orial for the Alsatian Jews in a pleasing form, in
conjunction with Mendelssohn. Whilst engaged on
this task, the thought struck him to publish a plea,
not alone for protection for the few, but on behalf
of all the German Jews, who suffered under similar
oppression. Thus originated his never-to-be-for-
gotten work, " Upon the Civil Amelioration of the
Condition of the Jews" (finished August, 1781), the
first step towards removing the heavy yoke from
the neck of the Jews. With this pamphlet, like
Lessing with his " Nathan," Dohm partly atoned for
the guilt of the German nation in enslaving and de-
grading the Jews. Dohm's apology has no clerical
tinge about it, but was addressed to sober, enlight-
ened statesmen, and laid particular stress upon the
political advantages. The noble philanthropist
who first pleaded for the emancipation of the ne-
groes had fewer difficulties to overcome than Dohm
in his efforts for the freedom of the Jews. The
very circumstances that ought to have spoken in
their favor, their intelligence and activity, their

CH. viii. DOHM'S APOLOGY. 353

mission to teach Christian nations pure doctrines
on God and morality, their ancient nobility — all
tended to their detriment. Their intellectual and
energetic habits were described as cunning and
love of gain ; their insistence upon the origin of
their dogmas as presumption and infidelity, and
their ancient nobility as pride. It is difficult to
over-estimate the heroism required to speak a word
on their behalf, in face of the numerous prejudices
and sentiments against the Jews prevailing among
all classes of Christian society.

In his apology Dohm, as already noted, omitted
all reference to the religious point of view, and
dwelt solely upon the political and economical
aspect. He started by asserting that it was a uni-
versal conviction that the welfare of states depended
upon increase of population. To this end many
governments spent large sums of money to attract
new citizens from foreign countries. An exception
was made only in the case of Jews. " Almost in all
parts of Europe the tendency of the laws and the
whole constitution of the state is to prevent, as far
as possible, the increase of these unfortunate Asiatic
refugees. Residence is either denied them, or
granted, at a fixed sum, for a short time. A large
proportion of Jews thus find the gates of every town
closed against them ; they are inhumanly driven
away from every border, and nothing is left to them
except to starve, or to save themselves from starva-
tion by crime. Every guild would think itself dis-
honored by admitting a Jew as a member ; therefore,
in almost every country, the Hebrews are debarred
from handicrafts and mechanical arts. Only men
of rare genius, amidst such oppressive circumstances,
retain courage and serenity to devote themselves to
the fine arts and the sciences. Even the rare men
who attain to a high degree of excellence, as well as
those who are an honor to mankind through their
irreproachable righteousness, meet with respect only

354 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

from a few ; with the majority the most distinguished
merits of soul and heart can never atone for the
error of ' being a Jew.' What reasons can have in-
duced the governments of European states to be so
unanimous in this attitude towards the Jewish
nation ? " asked Dohm. Is it possible that indus-
trious and good citizens are less useful to the state,
because they originally came from Asia, and are dis-
tinguished by a beard, by circumcision, and their
form of worship ? If the Jewish religion contained
harmful principles, then the exclusion of its adherents
and the contempt felt for them would be justified ;
but that is not the case. " The mob, which considers
itself at liberty to deceive a Jew, falsely asserts that,
by his law, he is permitted to cheat the adherents
of another creed, and persecuting priests have spread
stories of the prejudices felt by the Jews, and thus
revealed their own. The chief book of the Jews,
the Law of Moses, is regarded with reverence also
by Christians."

Dohm reviewed the history of the Jews in Europe
— how, in the first centuries, they had enjoyed full
civil rights in the Roman Empire, and must have
been considered worthy of such privileges — how
they were degraded and deprived of their rights,
first by the Byzantines, then by the German bar-
barians, especially by the Visigoths in Spain. From
the Roman Empire the Jews had brought more cul-
ture than the dominant nations possessed ; they
were not brutalized by savage feuds, nor was their
progress retarded by monkish philosophy and super-
stition. In Spain amongst Jews and Arabs there
had existed a more remarkable culture than in
Christian Europe. Dohm then reviewed the false
accusations and persecutions against Jews in the
Middle Ages, painting the Christians as cruel bar-
barians and the Jews as illustrious martyrs. After
touching upon the condition of the Jews in the
various states, he concluded his delineation with the
words :

CH. VIII. DOHM S PROGRAMME. 355

"These principles of exclusion, equally opposed to humanity and
politics, which bear the impress of the dark centuries, are unworthy
of the enlightenment of our times, and deserve no longer to be fol-
lowed. It is possible that some errors have become so deeply rooted
that they will disappear only in the third or fourth generation. But
this is no argument against beginning to reform now ; because,
without such beginning, a better generation can never appear."

Dohm suggested a plan whereby the amelioration
of the condition of the Jews might be facilitated, and
his proposals formed a programme for the future.
In the first place, they were to receive equal rights
with all other subjects. In particular, liberty of oc-
cupation and in procuring a livelihood should be
conceded them, so that, by wise precautions, they
would be drawn away from petty trading and usury,
and be attracted to handicrafts, agriculture, arts, and
sciences, all without compulsion. The moral eleva-
tion of the Jews was to be promoted by the founda-
tion of good schools of their own, or by the admis-
sion of their youth into Christian schools, and by the
elevation of adults in the Jewish Houses of Prayer.
But it should also be impressed upon Christians,
through sermons and other effectual means, that
they were to regard and treat the Jews as brothers
and fellow-men. As a matter of course, Dohm de-
sired to see freedom in their private religious affairs
granted them : free exercise of religion, the estab-
lishment of synagogues, the appointment of teachers,
maintenance of their poor, if considered wise, under
the supervision of the government. Even the
power of excluding refractory members from the
community should be given them. Dohm, more-
over, pleaded for the continuance, under certain re-
strictions, of independent jurisdiction in cases be-
tween Jews, the power to be vested in a tribunal of
rabbis. He wished to debar them from only one
privilege, from filling public offices, or entering the;
arena of politics. The ability to undertake these-
duties, he thought, was completely lacking in that
generation, and would not manifest itself very con-

356 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

spicuously in the next. Besides there was a super-
abundance rather than a lack of competent state
officers. For this reason, it would, for the present,
be better both for the state and the Jews, if they
worked in warehouses and behind the plough rather
than in state offices. The immediate future dis-
proved his doubts.

Dohm foresaw that his programme for the eman-
cipation of the Jews would meet with violent and
stubborn opposition from the clergy and the theol-
ogical school. He therefore submitted it to the
"wisdom of the governments," who at this time
were more inclined to progress and enlightenment
than the people. Dohm was filled with the serious-
ness and importance of his task ; he was positive
that his proposals would lay the basis not only for
the welfare of the Jews, but also for that of the
states. It is not to be overlooked that Mendels-
sohn stood behind him. Even if he did not dictate
the words, yet he breathed into them his spirit of
gentleness and love of mankind, and illumined
the points which were strange and dark to Dohm,
the Christian and political writer. Mendelssohn is,
therefore, to be looked upon, if not as the father,
certainly as the godfather, of Dohm's work.

It was inevitable for such a treatise to create
great excitement in Germany. Must not this de-
mand to treat Jews as equals have appeared to
respectable Christians as a monstrous thing ; as if
the nobility had been asked to place themselves at
the same table with their slaves ? Soon after its
appearance, Dohm's work advocating Jewish eman-
cipation became extraordinarily popular ; it was
read, discussed, criticised, and refuted by many,
and approved by only a few. The first rumor was
that Dohm had sold his pen to the Jews for a very
high price, although he had specially entreated pro-
tection for the poor homeless peddlers. Fortune
began to smile upon the Jews after having turned

CH. viii. JOSEPH ii. 357

its back upon them for so many centuries. Scarcely
had the pamphlet appeared, when Emperor Joseph,
the first Austrian ruler to allow himself in some
degree to be guided by moral and humane princi-
ples, having snapt asunder the yoke of the Catholic
Church, and having accorded a Toleration Edict to
the Protestants, issued a series of laws relating to
the Jews, which displayed sincere if rather fierce
philanthropy.

By this new departure (October 19, 1781), the
Jews were permitted to learn handicrafts, arts, and
sciences, and with certain restrictions to devote
themselves to agriculture. The doors of the uni-
versities and academies, hitherto closed to them,
were thrown open. The education of the Jewish
youth was a matter of great interest to this em-
peror, who promoted "philosophical morality." He
accordingly decreed the establishment of Jewish
primary and high schools (normal schools), and
forced adults to learn the language of the country,
by decreeing that in future only documents written
in that language would possess legal force. He
considerately removed the risk of all possible at-
tempts at religious compulsion. In the schools
everything that might be offensive to any creed was
to be omitted from the curriculum. An ordinance
enjoined (November 2) that the Jews were to be
everywhere considered "fellow-men," and all ex-
cesses against them were to be avoided. The
Leibzoll (body-tax), more humiliating to Christians
than to Jews, was also abolished by Joseph II of
glorious memory, in addition to the special law-
taxes, the passport-duty, the night-duty, and all
similar oppressive imposts which had stamped the
Jews as outcasts, for they were now to have equal
rights with the Christian inhabitants (December 19).
Joseph II did not intend to concede complete citi-
zenship to the Jews ; they were still forbidden to
reside in those cities whence Christian intolerance

358 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

had hitherto banished them. Even in Vienna Jews
were allowed to dwell only in a few exceptional
cases, on payment 'of protection-money (toleration-
tax), which protection did not extend to their
grown-up sons. They were not suffered to have a
single public synagogue in Vienna. But Joseph II
annulled a number of vexatious, restrictive regula-
tions, such as the compulsory wearing of beards,
the prohibition against going out in the forenoon on
Sundays and holidays, or frequenting public pleas-
ure resorts. The emperor even permitted Jewish
wholesale merchants, notables, and their sons, to
wear swords (January 2, 1782), and especially insis-
ted that Christians should behave in a friendly
manner towards Jews.

A notable beginning was thus made. The ig-
nominy of a thousand years, which the uncharita-
bleness of the Church, the avarice of princes, and
the brutality of nations, had cast upon the race of
Judah, was now partly removed, at least in one
country. Dohm's proposals in consequence met
with earnest consideration ; they were not regarded
as ideal dreams, but as political principles worthy of
attention. Scholars, clergymen, statesmen, and
princes began to interest themselves seriously in
the Jewish question. Every thoughtful person in
Germany and elsewhere took one side or the other.
Various opinions and ideas were aired ; the most
curious propositions were made. A preacher,
named Schwager, wrote :

" I have always been averse to hating an unfortunate nation, be-
cause it worships God in another way. I have always lamented that
we have driven the Jews to deceive us by an oppressive political
yoke. For, what else can they do, in order to live ? in what other
way can they defray their heavy taxes ? "

Diez, Dohm's excellent friend, one of the noblest
men of that epoch, afterwards Prussian ambassador
to the Turkish court, thought that Dohm had asked
far too little for the Jews.

CH. VIII. JOHN DAVID MICHAELIS. 359

"You aver most truly," he remarked, "that the present moral de-
pravity of the Jews is a consequence of their bondage. But to color
the picture, and weaken the reproaches leveled at the Jews, a repre-
sentation of the moral depravity of the Christians would have been
useful; certainly it is not less than that of the Jews, and rather the
cause of the latter."

John von Miiller, the talented historian of the
Swiss, with his wide attainments in general history,
also admired the glorious antiquity of the Jews,
praised Dohm's efforts on behalf of the Jews, and
supplied him from the treasures of his knowledge
with new proofs of the unjust and pitiless persecu-
tion of the mediaeval Jews, and their demoralization
by intolerable tyranny. He wished the writings of
Maimuni, " the Luther of the Jews," to be translated
into one of the European languages.

Naturally, hostile pamphlets were not wanting.
Especially noteworthy was an abusive tract, pub-
lished in Prague, entitled " Upon the Inutility of the
Jews in the Kingdoms of Bohemia and Moravia," in
which the author indulged in common insults

£j

against the Jews, and revived all the charges of
poisoning wells, sedition, and other pretexts for
their expulsion. This scurrilous work was so vio-
lent, that Emperor Joseph forbade its circulation
(March 2, 1782). A bitter opponent of the Jews at
this time was Frederick Traugott Hartmann. And
why? Because he had been cheated out of a few
pennies by Jewish hawkers. On account of their
venomous tone, however, these writings harmed the
Jews less than those of the German pedants.

To these belonged a famous scholar of authority,
John David Michaelis, the aged professor at (.ot-
tingen. His range of vision had been widened by
travels and observation, and he had cut himself
adrift from the narrowness of Lutheran theology.
Michaelis was the founder of the rationalist school
of theologians, who resolved the miracles and the;
sublimity of the Holy Scriptures into simple natural
facts. Through his "Mosaic Law," and cultivation

360 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

of Hebrew grammar and exegesis, he gained high
repute. But Michaelis had exactly that proportion
of unbelief and belief which made him hate the Jews
as the bearers of revealed religion and a miraculous
history, and despise them as antagonists of Chris-
tianity. ' A Jewish officer in the French army, when
it was stationed in Gottingen, had given but a
orudofinof salut;e jn return for the slavish obeisances

& c> c>

of the professors, which they held as due to every
Frenchman. This was ground enough for Michaelis
to abominate the Jews one and all, and to affirm
that they were of despicable character. Michaelis
had several years before remarked, on the appear-
ance of Lessing's drama " The Jew," " that a noble
Jew was a poetic impossibility." Experience had
disproved this assertion through Mendelssohn am:
other persons ; but a German professor cannot be
mistaken. Michaelis adhered to his opinion that the
Jews were an incorrigible race. Now he condemned
the Jews from a theological point of view, now from
political considerations. It is hard to say whether
it is to be called insensibility, intellectual dullness,
or malice, when Michaelis blurts out with :

" It seems to me, that herein Germany they (the Jews) already have
everything that they could possibly desire, and I do not know what he
(Dohm) wishes to add thereto. Medicine, philosophy, physics, math-
ematics, they are not excluded from, — and he himself does not wish
them to have offices."

He even defended the taking of protection-money
from the Jews.

It cannot be said that the anti-Jewish treatise of
Michaelis injured them at the time, for in no case
would the German princes and people have eman-
cipated them, had not the imperious progress of
history compelled it. But in after years Michaelis
was employed as an authority against the Jews. The
agitation excited by Dohm, and the views pro and
con had only resulted in forming public opinion
upon Judaism, and this affected not Germany, but

CH. VIII, MENDELSSOHN AND THE JEWISH QUESTION. 361

France. Miraculous concatenation of historical
events ! The venomous Alsatian district judge
wished to have the Jews of Alsace annihilated, and
through his malice he actually facilitated the libera-
tion of the Jews in France.

Mendelssohn prudently kept himself in the back-
ground in this movement : he did not desire to
have attention drawn to him as a prejudiced de-
fender of his brethren in religion and race. He
blessed the outbreak of interest in his unhappy
kinsmen.

"Blessed be Almighty Providence that has allowed me, at the end
of my days, to seethe happy time, when the rights of humanity begin
to be realized in their true extent."

However, two things induced him to break silence.
He found that the arrows hurled by Dohm had been
insufficient to pierce the thick-skinned monster of
Jew-hatred.

" Reason and humanity have raised their voices in vain, for grey-
headed prejudice is deaf."

Dohm himself did not appear to him to be free
from the general prejudice, because he admitted that
the Jews of the present day were depraved, useless,
even harmful ; therefore he suggested means to im-
prove them. But Mendelssohn, who knew his co-
religionists better, did not find them so greatly in-
fected with moral leprosy — or differing so widely
from Christians of the same class and trade — as ar-
rogant Christians in their self-glorification were wont
to assert. In a very clever way Mendelssohn made
not alone the Gottingen scholars Michaelis and
Hartmann, but also Dohm, understand that they had
misconceived the Jewish question.

"It is wonderful to note how prejudice assumes the forms of every
century in order to act despotically towards us, and place difficulties
in the way of our obtaining civil rights. In superstitious ages we
were said to insult sacred objects out of mere wantonness ; to pierce
crucifixes and cause them to bleed ; secretly to circumcise cliildri-n

362 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

and stab them in order to feast our eyes upon the sight; to draw
Christian blood for our Passover ; to poison wells.

" Now times have changed, calumny no longer makes the desired
impression. Now we, in turn, are upbraided with superstition and
ignorance, lack of moral sentiments, taste, and refined manners, in-
capacity for the arts, sciences, and useful pursuits, especially for the
service of war and the state, invincible inclination to cheating, usury,
and lawlessness; all these have taken the place of coarse indictments
against us, to exclude us from the number of useful citizens, and re-
ject us from the motherly bosom of the state. They tie our hands, and
reproach us that we do not use them. ..... Reason and the

spirit of research of our century have not yet wiped away all traces
of barbarism in history. Many a legend of the past has obtained
credit, because it has not occurred to any one to cast doubts upon it.
Some are supported by such important authorities that few have the
boldness to look upon them as legends and libels. Even at the pres-
ent moment there is many a city of Germany where no circumcised
person, even though he pays duty for his creed, is allowed to issue
forth in open daylight unwatched, lest he kidnap a Christian child or
poison the wells; while during the night he is not trusted under the
strictest surveillance, owing to his well-known intercourse with evil
spirits."

The second point in Dohm's memoir which did
not please Mendelssohn was, that it demanded the
recognition of the state for the Jewish religion, inas-
much as the government was to grant it the right
of excluding unruly members by a sort of excom-
munication. This did not harmonize with his con-
ception of a pure religion. In order to counteract
the errors of Dohm's well-meant apology, and the
obstinate misapprehension of the Jews as much as
possible, Mendelssohn caused one of his young
friends, the physician Marcus Herz, to translate
from the English original the "Vindicioe Judaeorum"
of Manasseh ben Israel against the numerous slan-
derous charges brought against them. He himself
wrote a preface full of luminous, glowing thoughts
(March, 1782), called "The Salvation of the Jews,"
as an appendix to Dohm's work. Manasseh's Apol-
ogy was buried in a book little read ; Mendelssohn
made its excellent truths known among the cultured
classes, and by a correct elucidation gave them
proper emphasis. In this preface he insisted, that
while the church arrogates the right of inflicting
punishment upon its followers, religion, the true

CH. VIII. MENDELSSOHN OPPOSES EXCOMMUNICATION. 363

faith, based upon reason and love of humanity, " re-
quires neither an arm nor a finger for its purpose ;
it concerns only the spirit and the heart. Moreover
it does not drive sinners and renegades from its
doors." Without knowing the whole extent of the
harm caused by it in the course of Jewish history,
Mendelssohn detested the interdicting power. He
therefore adjured the rabbis and elders to give up
their right of excommunicating.

" Alas ! my brethren, you have felt the oppressive yoke of intoler-
ance only too severely ; all the nations of the earth seem hitherto to
have been deluded by the idea that religion can be maintained only by
an iron hand. You, perhaps, have suffered yourselves to be misled
into thinking the same. Oh, my brethren, follow the example of love,
as you have till now followed that of hatred ! "

Mendelssohn now held so high a position in pub-
i- • • i i ,. v L

lie opinion, that every new publication bearing his

name was eagerly read. The fundamental thought
of the preface to Manasseh ben Israel's "Vindica-
tion," that religion has no rights over its followers
and must not resort to compulsory measures, struck
its readers with astonishment. This had never oc-
curred to any Christian believer. Enlightened
Christian clergymen, such as Teller, Spalding, Zolli-
kofer, and others, gradually fell in with the new idea,
and tendered its originator public applause. Bigoted
clerics and obdurate minds, on the other hand, be-
held therein the destruction of religion. "All this

<j

is new and difficult ; first principles are denied,"
said they. In Jewish circles also many objections
were made to Mendelssohn's view. It seemed as
if he had suddenly discarded Judaism, which cer-
tainly owns an elaborate system of penalties for re-
ligious crimes and transgressions. From the Chris-
tian camp a pamphlet called " Inquiry into Light and
Truth " was launched against him, which asserted
that he had finally dropped his mask ; that he had
embraced the religion of love, and turned his back
upon his native faith, which execrates and punishes.

364 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

A second time Mendelssohn was compelled to
emerge from his retirement, and give his views upon
religion. This he did in a work entitled " Jerusa-
lem," or "Upon Ecclesiastical Power and Judaism"
(spring, 1783), whose purity of contents and
form is a memorial of his lofty genius. The gen-
tleness that breathes through this book, the
warmth of conviction, the frankness of utterance, its
child-like ingenuousness, yet profoundly thoughtful
train of ideas, the graceful style which renders even
dry discussion enjoyable — all these qualities earned
contemporary approval for this work, and will always
assure it a place in literature. At the time it excited
great surprise. It had been believed, that, owing
to his ideas upon religion and Judaism, Mendels-
sohn, if he had not entirely broken away from Juda-
ism, had yet declared many things therein to be
worthless. He now showed that he was an ardent
Jew, and would not yield a tittle of existing Judaism,
either rabbinical or biblical ; that he, in fact, claimed
the highest privileges for it. All this was in accord
with his peculiar method of thought.

Judaism recognizes the freedom of religious con-
victions. Original, pure Judaism, therefore, contains
no binding articles of belief, no symbolical books, by
which the faithful were compelled to swear and
affirm their incumbent duty. Judaism prescribes
not faith, but knowledge, and it urges that its doc-
trines be taken to heart. In this despised religion
everyone may think, opine, and err as he pleases,
without incurring the guilt of heresy. Its right of
inflicting punishment begins only when evil thoughts
become acts. Why ? Because Judaism is not re-
vealed religion, but revealed legislation. Its first
precept is not, " thou shalt believe or not believe,"
but, " thou shalt do or abstain from doing."

" In the divinely-ordained constitution, state and religion are one.
Not unbelief, false teaching, and error, but wicked offenses against
the principles of the state and the national constitution are chastised.

CH. vin. "JERUSALEM." 365

With the destruction of the Temple, /. e., with the downfall of the
state, all corporal and capital punishment, as well as money fines,
ceased. The national bonds were dissolved ; religious trespasses
were no longer crimes against the state, and religion, as such, Knows
no punishments."

For those who seriously or jestingly had reported
that Mendelssohn had separated from Judaism, he
laid stress upon two points not wholly germane to
his subject, viz., that the so-called ceremonial law
of Judaism is likewise, indeed particularly, of divine
origin, and that its obligatory character must con-
tinue " until it pleases the Supreme to abrogate it as
plainly and publicly as it was revealed."

The effect of this detailed apology was greater
than Mendelssohn could have expected. Instead
of defending himself he had come forward as an
accuser, and in a manner at once gentle and forcible
he had laid bare the hateful ulcers of the church and
state constitution. Two authoritative representa-
tives of the age pronounced flattering opinions upon
him and the subject which he was discussing. Kant,
who had already testified to his greatness of thought,
wrote that he had read "Jerusalem " with admiration
for its keenness of argument, its refinement, and
cleverness of composition.

" I consider this book the herald of a great reform, which will
affect not alone your nation, but also others. You have succeeded
in combining your religion with such a degree of freedom of con-
science as was never imagined possible, and of which no other faith
can boast. You have, at the same time, so thoroughly and clearly
demonstrated the necessity of unlimited liberty of conscience in every
religion, that ultimately our Church will also be led to reflect how to
remove from its midst everything that disturbs and oppresses con-
science, which will finally unite all men in their view of the essential
points of religion."

Michaelis, the rationalistic anti-Semite, stood baf-
fled, embarrassed, and ashamed before the bold
ideas of the "Jerusalem." Judaism, which he had
scornfully disdained, now fearlessly and victoriously
raised its head. The Jew Mendelssohn, whom he
would not have trusted with a penny, appeared the

366 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

incarnation of conscientiousness and wisdom.
Michaelis was sorely perplexed in passing judg-
ment upon this remarkable work. He was obliged
to admit many things. Thus, without selfish mo-
tives, impelled only by circumstances, Mendelssohn
glorified Judaism, and shook off disgrace from his
people. In the meantime Dohm was aiding him.
He continued to expound Judaism in the most fav-
orable light, and refute all objections, the honest as
well as the malicious ones ; he had come to regard
the quarrel as his own. But Dohm effected most
by enlisting through his writings in favor of Jews
the sympathies of Mirabeau, a man with shoulders
strong enough to bear a new system of the world,
and he continued the work of Dohm.

At the same time, and in the same way, that is,
indirectly, Mendelssohn again urged the internal
rejuvenescence of the Jews, which was to accom-
pany their emancipation. From modesty or dis-
cretion, he would not come to the front ; he had
stimulated Dohm to do battle for their emancipa-
tion, and for their regeneration he brought forward
another friend, who appeared born for the task.
Owing to Mendelssohn, Wessely became a histor-
ical personage, who worked with all his energy for
the improvement of the Jews, completing the de-
ficiency of Mendelssohn's retiring character. Hart-
wig (Hartog, Naphtali-Herz) Wessely (born in
Hamburg, 1725 ; died in the same town, 1805) was
of a peculiar disposition, combining elements not
often associated. His grandfather had established
a manufactory for arms in Holstein, and had been a
commercial councilor and royal resident. His
father also conducted an important business, and
had frequent intercourse with so-called great peo-
ple. In this way Hartwig Wessely came with his
father to Copenhagen, where a Portuguese congre-
gation, and also a few German Jews had settled.
His early education was the same as that of most

CH. VIII. NAPHTALI WESSELY. 367

boys of that time ; he learnt to read Hebrew
mechanically, and to mis-translate the Bible, to be
launched, a boy of nine, into the labyrinth of the
Talmud. But a traveling grammarian, Solomon
Hanau, promoted the development of the germs
within him, and inspired him with love for the
Hebrew language. His labor was not in vain.
The seed sown by Hanau was to bear thousand-fold
fruit. Wessely's chief interest was the study of the
Holy Writings in the original tongue ; it was the
aim of his life to understand them from all points of
view. Owing to his father's frequent contact with
non-Jewish circles, in the course of business,
Wessely obtained an insight into actual life, and
absorbed other branches of knowledge, the modern
languages, geography, history, descriptions of trav-
els. These only served as auxiliary sciences to be
employed in his special study of the Scriptures, and
by their means to penetrate deeper into their
thought and spirit. Like Mendelssohn, Wessely
was self-taught. Very early he developed taste, a
sense for beauty, feeling for purity of speech and
form, and repugnance to the mixed dialects and the
jargon commonly used among German Jews.

Wessely again resembled Mendelssohn in char-
acter, distinguished as he was by strict conscien-
tiousness and elevated feelings of honor. In him,
too, thoughts, sentiments, words, and deeds, showed
no discrepancy. He was of deep, pure piety, an
unswerving adherent to Judaism. His nature, how-
ever, did not display the gentle pliancy of Mendels-
sohn's. He was stiff and pedantic, more inclined to
juggle with words and split hairs than to think
deeply, and he had no correct idea of the action of
world-moving forces. All his life Wessely remain* -<1
a visionary, and saw the events of the real world
through colored glasses. In one way Wessely was
apparently superior to Mendelssohn ; he; was a
poet. In reality, however, he only possessed un-

368 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

common facility and skill in making beautiful, well-
sounding verses of blameless refinement, of graceful
symmetrical smoothness, and accurate construction.
Wessely was greatly charmed by the laws of
Emperor Joseph in favor of the Jews, especially by
the command to erect schools ; he beheld therein
the dawn of a golden age for the Jews, whilst Men-
delssohn, with his keen perception, from the first
did not expect great results. He remarks, " It is
perhaps only a passing idea, without any substance,
or, as some fear, it has a financial purpose."
Wessely, however, composed a glowing hymn of
praise to the noble rule and the magnanimity of
Emperor Joseph. As soon as he was informed
that the rigidly orthodox party in Vienna regretted
the order to establish schools as an interference
with their liberty of conscience, he addressed a He-
brew letter (March, 1782), called "Words of Peace
and Truth," to the Austrian congregations, exhort-
ing them to welcome it as a benefit, to rejoice in it,
and at once execute it. He explained that it was a
religious duty of the Jews, recommended even by
the Talmud, to acquire general culture, that the
latter must even precede a knowledge of religion,
and that only by such means could they remove the
disgrace which, owing to their ignorance, had
weighed upon them for so long a time. Wessely
emphasized the necessity of banishing the barbarous
jargon from the midst of the Jews, and of cultivating
a pure, euphonious language. He sketched a plan
of instruction in his letter, showing how the Jewish
youth should be led, step by step, from elementary
subjects to the study of the Talmud. This letter,
written with fervor, impressive eloquence, and in a
beautiful Hebrew style, could not have failed to
produce great effect, had not Wessely, in his fan-
tastic manner, recommended that all Jewish youths,
without distinction of talents and future profession,
should be taught, not only history and geography,

CH. VIII. JEWISH SCHOOLS. 369

but also natural sciences, astronomy, and religious
philosophy, because only by this preliminary k*now-
ledge could a thorough understanding of Holy
Writ and of Judaism be acquired !

This epistle bore him both sweet and bitter fruit.
The community of Trieste, chiefly comprising Italian
and Portuguese Jews, who, unlike the Germans, did
not consider culture as heresy, had applied to the
governor, Count Zinzendorf, declaring their readi-
ness to establish a normal school, and begging him
to advise them how they might procure text books
on religion and ethics. Zinzendorf directed them
to Mendelssohn, whose celebrated name had pene-
trated to that distant place. Accordingly, Joseph
Chayim Galaigo, in the name of the congregation
of Trieste, addressed a petition to the Jewish sage
of Berlin for his writings. On this occasion, Men-
delssohn called the attention of the people of Trieste
to his friend Wessely and to his circular letter, rec-
ommending the founding of Jewish schools, and the
community forthwith entered into negotiations with
him. Thus his fervent words met with early
encouragement.

From the strictly pious people, however, a storm
now broke out against him. They were particularly
indignant at his hearty approval of Emperor Joseph's
reforms. The unamiable manner in which princes
were wont to concede freedom, the force brought to
bear upon the Jews, a natural aversion to forsake
the past, the legitimate fear that through school ed-
ucation and partial emancipation young men would
be seduced from Judaism, and that the instruction
given at the normal schools would supersede the
study of the Talmud — all these things had induced
the rabbis and the representatives of tradition to
oppose the reforming Jewish ordinances of Emperor
Joseph. Besides, men of doubtful piety, such as
Herz Homberg, eagerly pressed forward to obtain
appointments at the newly-founded training schools,

3/O HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

and to tempt the youthful students to innovations.
There were, to be sure, intelligent men, especially in
Prague, who greeted the new laws as salutary meas-
ures, and hoped that by these means the Jews would
rise out of their wretched, demoralized condition.
But this minority was denounced by the orthodox
as innovators and triflers. Religious simplicity,
which at every puff of wind feared the downfall of
the edifice of faith, and the desire of gain, which
fattened upon ignorance, and the perverse method
of instruction in a corrupt dialect, worked hand in
hand to predispose the communities against school
reforms. Wessely destroyed the whole opposition
with one blow. He who had hitherto been respected
as an orthodox believer, now supported the new
order of things. Further, in his incautious way, he
had quoted the Talmudical sentence, "A Talmudist
who does not possess knowledge (general culture),
is uglier than a carcass." This expression greatly
angered the orthodox. The Austrian rabbis dared
not attack him openly, because he had only followed
the emperor in his ideas. They appear therefore
to have incited certain Polish rabbis to condemn his
circular letter and excommunicate him.

Although the zealots were without support from
Berlin, they continued in their heretic-hunting, caus-
ing the pulpits to re-echo with imprecations against
Wessely; and in Lissa his letter was publicly burnt.
He had the bitter experience of standing alone in
this conflict. None of his adherents publicly sided
with him, although he was contending for a just cause
by noble methods and in a most becoming manner.
Mendelssohn did not like such disputes, and at this
time was suffering too much, bodily and mentally,
to take part. Thus Wessely had to conduct his
own defense. He published a second letter (April
24), supposed to be addressed to the Trieste con-
gregation, in which he again dwelt upon the im-
portance of regular instruction, and of the abolition

CH. vin. MENDELSSOHN'S DEATH. 371

of old practices, and disproved the charges against
him. Gentle and forbearing as he was, he avoided
retorting severely upon his opponents; but he per-
mitted words of censure against orthodoxy and the
one-sided, perverse Talmudic tendency to slip from
him. It was, indeed, the irony of history, that the
most orthodox among the followers of Mendelssohn,
without wishing it, opened fire on Rabbinism, as the
Kabbalist Jacob Emden had given the first violent
blow to the Kabbala. By and by, several Italian
rabbis of Trieste, Ferrara, and Venice, spoke in
favor of Wessely, and recommended culture, al-
though they were unable to bridge over the chasm
between it and Rabbinism. Wessely was victorious ;
and the opposing rabbis laid down their arms.
Schools for regular instruction arose here and there,
even in Prague. But the strict Talmudists were
right. Their suspicions foreboded the future more
truly than Mendelssohn's and Wessely's confidence.
The old rigid form of Judaism could no more assert
itself. Both these men, who had felt so much at
ease in the old structure, and wished only to see it
cleansed here and there from cobwebs and fungus
growths, contributed to sap its foundations.

Wessely, ever deserted by fortune, lived to see
this decay with weeping eyes. Mendelssohn, more
fortunate, was spared this pain. Death called him
away in time, before he perceived that his circle,
even his own daughters, treated with contemptuous
scorn and rejected what his heart held to be most
sacred, and what he so earnestly strove to glorify.
Had he lived ten years longer, even his wisdom
would perhaps not have availed him to tide over
this anguish. He who without a trace of romance
had led an ideal life, died ideally transfigured, at the
right moment. The friendship and the philosophy
which had elevated his life and brought him fame
broke his heart. When Mendelssohn was about
to raise a memorial to his unforgotten friend, to

372 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII.

show him in his true greatness to future gen-
erations, he learned from Jacobi that shortly be-
fore his death Lessing had manifested a decided
liking for the philosophy of Spinoza. " Lessing a
Spinozist ! " This pierced Mendelssohn's heart as
with a spear. Nothing was so distasteful to him as
the pantheistic system of Spinoza, which denied a
personal God, Providence, and Immortality, ideas
with which Mendelssohn's soul was bound up.
That Lessing should have entertained such con-
victions, and that he, his bosom friend, should
know nothing whatsoever about them ! Jealousy
that Lessing had communicated to others the secret
so carefully concealed from himself, and deep dis-
appointment that his friend had not shared his own
convictions took possession of Mendelssohn. He
suspected, that his philosophy, if it was true that
Lessing had not been pleased with it, would become
obsolete, and be thrust aside. His whole being
rose in resistance against such doubts. These
thoughts robbed the last years of his life of rest,
made him passionate, excited, feverish. While
composing his work in refutation of Jacobi's, "To
the Friends of Lessing," excitement so overpowered
him that it brought on his death (January 4, 1786).
This ideal death for friendship and wisdom worthily
concluded his life, and showed him to posterity as
he appeared to his numerous friends and admirers,
an upright, honest man, in whom was neither false-
hood nor guile. Almost the entire population of
the Prussian capital, and many earnest men in Ger-
many and beyond its borders mourned the man
who, forty years before, with heavy heart had
knocked at one of the gates of Berlin, in fear that
the Christian or the Jewish beadle would drive him
away. The attempt of his Christian friends, Nico-
lai, Biester, and Engel, the tutor of the Crown
Prince Frederick William III, in conjunction with
Jewish admirers, to erect a statue to Mendelssohn

OH. viii. MENDELSSOHN'S REPUTATION. 373

in the Opera Square next to those of Leibnitz,
Lambert, and Sulzer, although it did not meet with
approval, characterizes the progress of the time.
The deformed son of the so-called " Ten Command-
ments writer" of Dessau had become an ornament
to the city of Berlin.

CHAPTER IX.

THE NEW CHASSIDISM.

The Alliance of Reason with Mysticism— Israel Baalshem, his Career
and Reputation— Movement against Rabbinism — The "Zaddik"
— Beer Mizricz, his Arrogance and Deceptions — The Devotional
Methods of the Chassidim — Their Liturgy— Dissolution of the
Synods " of the Four Countries " — Cossack Massacres in Poland
—Elijah Wilna, his Character and Method of Research — The
Mizricz and Karlin Chassidim — Circumstances prove Favorable
to the Spread of the New Sect — Vigorous Proceedings against
them in Wilna — Death of Beer Mizricz — Progress of Chassidism
despite the Persecution of its Opponents.

1750—1786 c. E.

As soon as an historical work has performed its
service, and is to undergo a change, new phe-
nomena arise from various sides, and assume a
hostile attitude, either to alter or destroy it. It
might have been foreseen that the rejuvenescence
of the Jewish race, for which Mendelssohn had lev-
eled the way, would produce a transformation and
decomposition of religious habits among Jews. The
innovators desired this, and hoped, and strove for it ;
the old orthodox party suspected and dreaded it.
The process of dissolution was brought about also in
another way, upon another scene, under entirely
different conditions, and by other means, and this
could not have been foreseen. There arose in Po-
land a new Essenism, with forms similar to those of
the ancient cult, with ablutions and baths, white
garments, miraculous cures, and prophetic visions.
Like the old movement, it originated in ultra-piety,
but soon turned against its own parent, and perhaps
hides within itself germs of a peculiar kind, which,
being in course of development, cannot be defined.
It seems remarkable that, at the time when Men-

374

CH. IX. THE NEW CHASSIDIM. 375

delssohn declared rational thought to be the essence
of Judaism, and founded, as it were, a widely-exten-
ded order of enlightened men, another banner was
unfurled, the adherents of which announced the
grossest superstition to be the fundamental principle
of Judaism, and formed an order of wonder-seeking
confederates. Both these new bodies took up a
hostile position to traditional Judaism, and created
a rupture. History in its generative power is as
manifold and puzzling as nature. It produces in
close proximity healing herbs and poisonous plants,
lovely flowers and hideous parasites. Reason and
unreason seemed to have entered into a covenant
to shatter the gigantic structure of Talmudic Juda-
ism. The attempt once before made by history,
to subvert Judaism by the contemporaneous exist-
ence of Spinoza and Sabbata'i Zevi, was now re-
peated by the simultaneous attacks of representa-
tives of reason and unreason. Enlightenment and
Kabbalistic mysticism joined hands to commence
the work of destruction. Mendelssohn and Israel
Baalshem, what contrasts ! Yet both unconsciously
undermined the basis of Talmudic Judaism. The
origin of the new Chassidim, who had already be-
come numerous, and who sprang up very rapidly, is
not so clear as the movement started by Mendels-
sohn. The new sect, a daughter of darkness, was
born in gloom, and even to-day proceeds stealthily
on its mysterious way. Only a few circumstances
which contributed to its rise and propagation are
known.

The founders of the new Chassidism were Israel
of Miedziboz (born about 1698; died 1759) a'1(l
Beerof Mizricz (born about 1700; died 1772). Tin:
former received, alike from his admirers and his an-
tagonists, the surname of "The Wonderworker by
means of Invocations in the Name of (iod," l>a.il
shem, or Baal-Shemtob, in the customary abbreviated
form, Besht. As ugly as the name, Besht, \\.i, tin-

376 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX,

form of the founder and the order that he called
into existence. The Graces did not sit by his
cradle, but the spirit of belief in wonderworking,
and his brain was so filled with fantastic images
that he could not distinguish them from real, tangi-
ble beings. The experiences of Israel's youth are
unknown. So much, however, is certain ; he was
left an orphan, poor and neglected, early in life, and
passed a great portion of his youth in the forests
and caves of the Carpathian mountains. The spurs
of the Carpathian hills were his teachers. Here he
learnt what he would not have acquired in the dark,
narrow, dirty hovels called schools in Poland —
namely, to understand the tongue which nature
speaks. The spirits of the mountains and the foun-
tains whispered secrets to him. Here he also
learned, probably from the peasant women who
gathered herbs on the mountain-tops and on the
edges of rivers, the use of plants as remedies. As
they did not trust to the healing power of nature,
but added conjurations and invocations to good and
evil spirits, Israel also accustomed himself to this
method of cure. He became a miracle-doctor.
Necessity, too, was his teacher ; it taught him to
pray. How often, in his forsaken and orphaned
condition, may he have suffered from want even of
dry bread, how often may he have been surrounded
by real or imaginary dangers ! In his distress he
prayed in the usual forms of the synagogue ; but he
spoke his words with fervor and intense devotion,
or cried them aloud in the solitude of the mountains.
His audible prayer awakened the echoes of the
mountains, which appeared as an answer to his sup-
plications. He seems to have been often in a state
of rapture, and to have induced this condition by
frantic movements of the whole body while praying.
This agitation drove the blood to his head, made
his eyes glitter, and wrought both body and soul
into such a condition of over-excitement that he felt

CH. IX. ISRAEL BAALSHEM. 377

a deadly weakness come over him. Was this
magnetic tension of the soul caused by the motions
and the shouting, singing, and praying?

Israel Baalshem asserted that, in consequence of
these bodily agitations and this intense devotion, he
often caught a glimpse of infinity. His soul soared
upward to the world of light, heard and saw Divine
secrets and revelations, entered into conversation
with sublime spirits, and by their intervention could
secure the grace of God and prosperity, and espe-
cially avert impending calamities. Israel Miedziboz
also boasted that he could see into the future, as
secrets were unveiled to him. Was this a deliber-
ate boast, self-deception, or merely an over-estima-
tion of morbid feelings ? There are persons, times,
and places, in which the line of demarcation be-
tween trickery and self-delusion cannot be distin-
guished. In Poland, in Baalshem's time, with the
terrible mental strain created by the Kabbala in
connection with the Sabbatian fraud, the feverish
expectation of imminent Messianic redemption, ev-
erything was possible and everything credible. In
that land the fancy of both Jews and Christians
moved among extraordinary and supernatural phe-
nomena as in its natural element. Israel stead-
fastly and firmly believed in the visions seen when
he was under mental and physical excitement ; he
believed in the power of his prayers. In his delu-
sion he blasphemously declared that prayer is a
kind of marriage union (Zivug) of man with the
Godhead (Shechina), upon which he must enter
whilst in a state of excitement. Equipped with al-
leged higher knowledge of secret remedies and the
spirit world, to which he thought he had attained
through Divine grace, Israel entered the society of
men to prove his higher gifts. It must be acknowl-
edged to his credit that he never misused tin -si • tal
ents. He did not make a trade of them, nor seek to
earn his livelihood with them. At first lu: followed

378 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

the humble occupation of a wagoner, afterwards he
dealt in horses, and when his means permitted it he
kept a tavern.

Occasionally, when specially requested, he em-
ployed his miraculous remedies, and thereby gained
so great a reputation that he was consulted even by
Polish nobles. He became conspicuous by his
noisy, delirious praying, which must have so trans-
figured him that men did not recognize the wagoner
or horse-dealer whom they knew. He was admired
for his revelation of secrets. In Poland not only
the unlearned and the Jews considered such gifts
and miracles possible ; the Jesuits and the Kabbal-
ists had stultified the Christians and the Jews of
their country, and plunged them into a state of prim-
itive barbarism.

It would have been a remarkable thing if such a
wonder-doctor, who appeared to have intercourse
with the spirit world, had not found adherents, but
he can hardly have designed the formation of a new
sect. He was joined by persons of a similar dispo-
sition to his own, who felt a religious impulse, which
could not be satisfied, they thought, by a rigorous,
penitential life, or by mechanical repetition of pre-
scribed prayers. They joined Israel, in Miedziboz,
to pray with devotion, i. e., in a sing-song tune, clap-
ping their hands, bowing, jumping, gesticulating, and
uttering cries. At almost the same time there
arose, in Wales, a Christian sect called "the Jump-
ers," who resorted to similar movements during
prayer, and induced trances and mesmeric dreams.
At the same time there was established, in North
America, the sect of the Shakers, by an Irish girl,
Johanna Lee, who likewise in the delirium of prayer
pursued mystic Messianic phantoms. Israel need
not have been a trickster to obtain followers. Mys-
ticism and madness are contagious. He particularly
attracted men who desired to lead a free and merry
life, at the same time hoping to reach a lofty aim,

CH. IX. DOB BEER.

379

and to live assured of the nearness of God in seren-
ity and calmness, and to advance the Messianic
future. They did not need to pore over Talmudical
folios in order to attain to higher piety.

It became the fashion in neo-Chassidean circles to
scoff at the Talmudists. Because the latter mocked
at the unlearned chief of the new order, who had a
following without belonging to the guild of Talmud-
ists, without having been initiated into the Talmud
and its appendages, the Chassidim depreciated the
study of the Talmud, avowing that it was not able
to promote a truly godly life. Covert war existed
between the neo-Chassidim and the Rabbanites ; the
latter could not, however, harm their opponents so
long as Israel's adherents did not depart from exist-
ing Judaism. After the death of the founder, when
barbarism and degeneracy increased, the feud grew
into a complete rupture under Beer of Mizricz.

Dob Beer (or Berish) was no visionary like Israel,
but possessed the faculty of clear insight into the
condition of men's minds. He was thus able to
render the mind and will of others subservient to
him. Although he joined the new movement only
a short time before Israel's death, yet, whether at
his suggestion or not, Israel's son and sons-in-law
were passed over, and Beer was made Israel's suc-
cessor in the leadership of the neo-Chassidean com-
munity. Beer, who transferred the center to Miz-
ricz— a village in Volhynia — was superior to his
master in many points. He was well read in Tal-
mudical and Kabbalistic writings, was a fluent
preacher (Maggid), who, to further his purpose,
could make the most far-fetched biblical verses, as
also Agaclic and Zoharic expressions, harmonize,
and thus surprise his audience. He removed I mm
the Chassidim the stigma of ignorance, especially
disgraceful in Poland, and secured an accession of
supporters. He had a commanding appearance, did
not mingle with the people, but lived the whole

380 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

week secluded in a small room — only accessible to
his confidants — and thus acquired the renown of
mysterious intercourse with the heavenly world.
Only on the Sabbath did he show himself to all who
longed to be favored with his sight. On this day
he appeared splendidly attired in satin, his outer
garment, his shoes, and even his snuff-box being
white, the color signifying grace in the Kabbalistic
language. On this day, in accordance with the cus-
tom introduced by Israel Besht, he offered up
prayers together with his friends, with the strangers
who had made a pilgrimage to him, with the new
members, and those curious to see the Kabbalistic
saint and wonderworker. To produce the joyous
state of mind necessary to devout prayer, Beer in-
dulged in vulgar jokes, whereby the merriment of
the bystanders was aroused ; for instance, he would
joke with one of the circle, and throw him down.
In the midst of this child's play he would suddenly
cry out, " Now serve the Lord with gladness."

Under Beer's guidance, the constitution of Chas-
sidism remained apparently in the same form as
under his predecessor: fervent, convulsive praying,
inspiration (Hithlahabuth), miraculous cures, and
revelations of the future. But as these actions did
not, as with Israel, flow from a peculiar or abnormal
state of mind, they could only be imitated — artifice
or illusion had to supply what nature withheld. It
was an accepted fact that the Chassidean leader, or
Zaddik, the perfectly pious man, had to be enthu-
siastic in prayer, had to have ecstatic dreams and
visions. How can a clever plotter appear inspired?
Alcohol, so much liked in Poland, now had to take
the place of the inspiring demon. Beer had not
the knowledge of remedial herbs, which his teacher
had obtained in the Carpathian mountains. He,
therefore, devoted himself to medicine, and if his
remedies did not avail, then the sick person died of
his sinfulness. To predict the future was a more

CH. IX. THE "ZADDIK. 381

difficult task, yet it had to be accomplished; his
reputation as a thaumaturgist depended upon it.
Beer was equal to the emergency. Among his in-
timates were expert spies, worthy of serving in the
secret police. They discovered many secrets, and
told them to their leader ; thus he was enabled to
assume an appearance of omniscience. Or his
emissaries committed robberies ; if the victims
came to the " Saint " in his hermitage to find them
out, he was able to indicate the exact spot where
the missing articles were lying. If strangers, at-
tracted by his fame, came to see him, they were not
admitted, as mentioned, until the following Satur-
day, to take part in the Chassidean witches' Sabbath.
Meantime his spies, by artful questions and other
means, gleaned a knowledge of the affairs and se-
cret desires of these strangers, and communicated
them to the Zaddik. In the first interview Beer, in
a seemingly casual manner, was able, in a skillfully
arranged discourse, to bring in allusions to these
strangers, whereby they would be convinced that he
had looked into their hearts, and knew their past.
By these and similar contrivances, he succeeded in
asserting himself as omniscient, and increasing the
number of his followers. Every new convert testi-
fied to his Divine inspiration, and induced others to
join.

In order to strengthen respect for him, Beer pro-
pounded a theory, which in its logical application is
calculated to promote most harmful consequences.
Supported by the Kabbalistic formula, that "the
righteous or the pious man is the foundation of the
world," he magnified the importance of the Zaddik,
or the Chassidean chief, to such an extent that it
became blasphemy. "A Zaddik is not alone the
most perfect and sinless human being, he is not
alone Moses, but the representative of God and
His image." All and everything that the Zaddik
does and thinks has a decided influence upon the

382 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

upper and lower worlds. The Deity reveals Him-
self especially in the acts of the Zaddik; even his
most trifling deeds are to be considered important.
The way he wears his clothes, ties his shoes,
smokes his pipe, whether he delivers profound ad-
dresses, or indulges in silly jokes — everything
bears a close relation to the Deity, and is of as
much moment as the fulfillment of a religious duty.
Even when drawing inspiration from the bottle, he
is swaying the upper and nether worlds. All these
absurd fancies owed their origin to the supersti-
tious doctrines of the Kabbala, which, in spite of the
unspeakable confusion they had wrought through
Sabbatai Zevi and Frank, in spite of the opposition
which their chief exponent, the Zohar, had encoun-
tered at about this time at the hands of Jacob Em-
den, still clouded the brains of the Polish Jews.
According to this theory, the Zaddik, i. e., Berish
Mizricz, was the embodiment of power and splendor
upon earth. In his " Stiibel," or" Hermitage," i. e.,
in his dirty little retired chamber, he considered
himself as great as the papal vicar of God upon
earth in his magnificent palace. The Zaddik was
also to bear himself proudly towards men ; all this
was " for the glory of God." It was a sort of Cath-
olicism within Judaism.

Beer's idea, however, was r.ot meant to remain
idle and unfruitful, but to bring him honor and
revenue. While the Zaddik cared for the conduct
of the world, for the obtaining of heavenly grace,
and especially for Israel's preservation and glorifi-
cation, his adherents had to cultivate three kinds of
virtues. It was their duty to draw nigh to him, to
enjoy the sight of him, and from time to time to
make pilgrimages to him. Further, they were to
confess their sins to him. By these means alone
could they hope for pardon of their iniquities. Fi-
nally, they had to bring him presents, rich gifts,
which he knew how to employ to the best advan-

CH. IX. SPREAD OF THE NEW CHASSIDISM. 383

tage. It was also incumbent upon them to attend
to his personal wants. It seems like a return to the
days of the priests of Baal, so vulgar and disgusting
do these perversities appear. The saddest part of
all is that this teaching, worthy of a fetish worship-
ing people, met with approbation in Poland, the
country distinguished by cumbersome knowledge of
Jewish literature. It was just this excess, this over-
activity of the spiritual digestive apparatus, that
produced such lamentable phenomena. The intel-
lect of the Polish Jews had been so over-excited,
that the coarsest things were more pleasing to them
than what was refined.

Beer despatched abroad as his apostles bombas-
tic preachers who seasoned his injurious teachings
with distorted citations from the Scriptures. Sim-
ple-minded men, rogues, and idlers, of whom there
were so many in Poland, attached themselves to the
new Chassidim ; the first from inclination to enthu-
siasm and belief in miracles ; the cunning, in order
to procure money in an easy way, and lead a pleas-
ant existence; and the idlers, because in the court
of the Zaddik they found occupation, and gratified
iheir curiosity. If such idlers were asked what they
were thinking of, as they strolled about pipe in
mouth, they would reply with seriousness, " We are
meditating upon God." The simple people, how-
ever, who hoped to win bliss through the Chassi-
dean discipline, engaged continually in prayer, un-
til through exhaustion they dropped unconscious.

Neo-Chassidism was favored by two circum-
stances, the fraternization of the members and the
dryness and fossilized character of Talmudic study
as carried on in Poland for more than a century.
At the outset the Chassidim formed a kind of
brotherhood, not indeed with a common purse, as
among their prototypes, the Essenesand the Judaeo-
Christians, but having regard to the wants of needy
members. Owing to the closeness of their union,

384 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

their spying system, and their energy, it was easy
for them to provide for those who lacked employ-
ment or food. On New Year and the Day of
Atonement people, even those who dwelt at long
distances, undertook pilgrimages to the Zaddik, as
formerly to the Temple, and left their wives and
children to pass the so-called holy days in the com-
pany of their chief, to be edified by his presence and
actions. Here the Chassidean disciples learned to
know one another, discussed local affairs, and ren-
dered mutual help. Well-to-do merchants found
opportunity at these assemblies, in conversation
with fellow-believers, upon whose fidelity and broth-
erly attachment they could rely, to discover fresh
sources of income. Fathers of marriageable daugh-
ters sought and easily found husbands for them,
which at that time in Poland was considered a highly
important matter. The common meals on the
afternoons of Saturdays and the holidays strength-
ened the bonds of loyalty and affection among
them. How could meals for so many guests be
provided ? The wealthy Chassidim regarded it as
a duty to support the Zaddik liberally. A special
source of income was the superstitious belief pre-
valent among the Chassidim that the Zaddik for
certain sums (Pidion, Redemption) could ward off
threatening perils and cure deadly diseases. Pres-
sure was brought to bear upon wealthy but weak-
minded persons, and they were terrified into be-
lieving that they could escape impending calamities
only by rich gifts. Whoever desired to enter upon
a hazardous transaction consulted the Zaddik as an
oracle, and had to pay for his counsel. The cunning
Chassidim knew everything, were ready with counsel
in any emergency, and by their craftiness were
able to afford real assistance. The Zaddik, how-
ever miserly he might be, had to assist the poor
and distressed with his revenues. Thus ev-
ery member received help here. Full of enthu-

CH. IX. TALMUD STUDY IN POLAND. 385

siasm they returned home from their journey ;
the feeling that they belonged to a brotherhood
elevated them, and they ardently looked forward
to the return of the holy time. The poor an-1
forsaken, the fanatical and the unprincipled, could
not do better than join this union, this easy-going
yet religious order.

Earnest men, also, desirous of satisfying their
spiritual wants, felt themselves attracted to the
Chassidim. Rabbinical Judaism, as known in Po-
land, offered no sort of religious comfort. Its rep-
resentatives placed the highest value upon the dia-
lectic, artificial exposition of the Talmud and its
commentaries. Actual necessity had besides caused
that portion of the Talmud which treated of civil
law to be closely studied, as the rabbis exercised
civil jurisdiction over their flocks. Fine-spun decis-
ions of new, complicated legal points occupied the
doctors of the Talmud day and night. Moreover,
this hair-splitting was considered sublimest piety,
and superseded everything else. If any one solved
an intricate Talmudic question, or discovered
something new, called Torah, he felt self-satis-
fied, and assured of his felicity hereafter. All other
objects, the impulse to devotion, prayer, and emo-
tion, or interest in the moral condition of the com-
munity, were secondary matters, to which scarcely
any attention was paid. The mental exercise of
making logical deductions from the Talmud, or
more correctly from the laws of Mine and Thine,
choked all other intellectual pursuits in Poland.
Religious ceremonies had degenerated, both
amongst Talmudists and the unlearned, into mean-
ingless usages, and prayer into mere lip-service.
To men of feeling this aridity of Talmudic study,
together with the love of debate, and tin- dogma-
tism and pride of the rabbis arising from it, were
repellent, and they flung themselves into the arms
of the new order, which allowed so much play lor

386 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

the fancy and the emotions. Especially preachers,
semi-Talmudists who were looked upon and treated
by erudite rabbi-Talmuclists as inferior and con-
temptible, who eked out a wretched living, or
almost starved, leagued themselves with the neo-
Chassidim, because among them their talents of
preaching were appreciated, and they could obtain
an honorable position, and be secured against need.
By the accession of such elements the circle of neo-
Chassidim became daily augmented. Almost in
every town lived followers of the new school, who
occasionally had intercourse with their brother-
members and their chief.

With advancing strength the antipathy of the
neo-Chassidim to the rabbis and Talmudists in-
creased. Without being aware of it they formed a
new sect, which scorned intercourse with the Tal-
mud Jews. With Beer at their head, they felt
themselves strong enough to introduce an innova-

o o

tion, which would naturally bring down the anger of
the rabbis upon them. Since prayer and the rites
of Divine service were the chief consideration for
them, they did not trouble themselves about the
prescriptions of the ritual law as to how many
prayers should be said, nor at what time the differ-
ent services should commence and terminate, but
were entirely guided by the feeling of the moment.
Through their daily ablutions, baths, and other prep-
arations for public worship they were seldom ready
for prayer at the prescribed time, but began later,
prolonged it by the movements of their bodies and
their intoning, and suddenly came to an end after
omitting several portions. They were especially
averse to the harsh interpolations in the Sabbath
and festival prayers (the Piyutim). These inser-
tions interrupt the most important and suggestive
portions of the service. To abolish these at a
blow, Beer Mizricz introduced the prayer-book of
the arch-Kabbalist, Isaac Lurya, which for the

CH. IX. STATE OF POLAND.

greater part conforms to the Portuguese ritual, and
does not contain poetical (poetanic) additions. In
the eyes of the ultra-orthodox this innovation was
an enormous, or rather a double crime, permitting,
as it did, the omission of interpolations hallowed by
custom, and the exchange of the German ritual for
the Sephardic.

This innovation would probably have been se-
verely visited upon the neo-Chassidim, but that at
this time, when the political power of Poland lay
crushed, the firm political connection of the Polish
Jews had also been dissolved. Poland was dis-
tracted by civil war. " In this country," as the
Primate of Gnesen complained at the opening of the
Reichstag, March, 1764, "freedom is oppressed, the
laws are not obeyed, justice cannot be obtained,
trade is utterly ruined, districts and villages are de-
vastated, the treasury is empty, and the coin of the
realm has no value." It had been enfeebled by the
Jesuits, and was already regarded by Russia as a
sure prey. Its king — Stanislaus Augustus Ponia-
towski — was a weakling, the plaything of internal
factions and external foes (September, 1764). In
the first year of his reign, Poniatowski among other
laws issued a regulation which destroyed the com-
munal union of the Polish Jews. The synod of the
Four Countries, composed of delegates, rabbis and
laymen (Parnassim), with authority to pronounce
interdicts and levy fines, was not permitted to as-
semble, pass resolutions, or execute them.

The dissolution of the synod was very fortunate
for the neo-Chassidim. They could not be excom-
municated by the representatives of the Polish Jew-
ish world, but each individual congregation had to
proceed against them and forbid their meetings.
Even this step was not taken at once, as the trrri
ble death-struggle in which Poland engaged before
its first partition was severely felt by the wealthy
Jews, who trembled for their lives. The Confcder-

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

ation War broke out, which made many districts^
desert ; Poland was punished by eternal Justice in
the same way as it had sinned. In the name of the
pope and the Jesuits it had always persecuted dis-
senters, and excluded them from public offices,
and, in the name of the dissenters, Catherine
plunged the land into fratricidal war. The Rus-
sians, for the second time, let loose against Poland
the Zaporogian Cossacks — the savage Haidamaks —
who inflicted death, by every known method, upon
the Polish nobles, the clergy, and the Jews. The
Haidamaks hung up together a nobleman, a Jew, a
monk, and a dog, with the mocking inscription,
"All are equal." Most inhuman cruelties were in-
flicted upon captives and the defenseless. In ad-
dition came the Turks, who, in the guise of saviours
of Poland, murdered and plundered on every side.
The Ukraine, Podolia, in general the southern pro-
vinces of Poland, were turned into deserts.

These misfortunes were more advantageous than
injurious to the neo-Chassidim. They spread in
the north, and whilst hitherto they had been able to
carry on their cult only in small, comparatively
young communities, from this time they gained
ground in the large and old congregations. Their
numbers had already grown to such an extent that
they formed two branches — the Mizriczians and the
Karlinians — the former called after their original
home, the latter after the village of Karlin, near
Pinsk. The Karlinians spread as far as Wilna and
Brody. At first they proceeded cautiously. As
soon as at least ten persons had assembled, they
looked for a room (Stubel) in which to conduct their
services ; there they practiced the rites of their
creed, and sought to gain new adherents; but all
this was skillfully done, so that nothing came to
light before they had secured a firm foothold. In
Lithuania their system was not yet known, and thus
at first they aroused no suspicion.

CH. IX. ELIJAH WILNA. 380

The first violent attack upon them was made by
a man whose influence was blessed during- his life-
time, and even after death, and who, in a more fav-
orable environment, might, like Mendelssohn, have
effected much for the moral advancement of his co-
religionists. Elijah Wilna (born 1720; died 1797),
whose name, with the title of " Gaon," is still men-
tioned by the Lithuanian Jews with reverence and
love, was a rare exception among the mass of the
Polish Jews. He was of the purest character, and
possessed high talents, which he did not put to per-
verted uses. It suffices to say of his character that
in spite of his comprehensive and profound Tal-
mudical erudition, he refused a post as rabbi, in
contrast to most scholars in Poland, who were
office-seekers, and obtained rabbinates by artifice.
In spite of the marvelous fertility of his pen in
many domains of Jewish literature, he allowed
nothing to be published during his lifetime, again in
contradistinction to contemporary students, who, in
order to make a name and to see their ideas in
print, scarcely waited till the ink of their composi-
tions was dry. In his disinterestedness, Elijah
Wilna realized the ideal of the Talmud, that a
teacher of Judaism " should use the Law neither as
a crown to adorn himself therewith, nor as a spade
to dig therewith." In spite of the superiority of his
knowledge and the full and general recognition ac-
corded him, he modestly and conscientiously avoided
asserting himself. The gratification that results
from research, from the seeking of knowledge, com-
pletely satisfied him. His intellectual method cor-
responded in its unaffected simplicity with his char-
acter and life. As a matter of course, the Talmud
and all the branches connected with or dependent
on it filled his mind. But he disliked the corrupt
method of his countrymen, who indulged in hair
splitting, casuistry, and subtleties. His sole aim
was to penetrate to the simple sense of the text ;

390 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

he even made an attempt at the critical examina-
tion and emendation of texts, and by his undistorted
explanations he blew down the houses of cards
which the subtle Talmudists had erected upon
quicksand.

It required extraordinary mental force to swim
against the high tide of custom and rise above the
aberrations into which all the sons of the Talmud in
Poland had fallen. In point of fact Elijah Wilna
stood isolated in his time. It seemed as though
from his youth he had been afraid of following the
errors of his compatriots, for he attached himself to
no special school, but, strange to say, was his own
teacher in the Talmud. Talmudical studies did not
exclusively occupy his mind. Elijah Wilna devoted
great attention to the Bible — a rarity in his circle—
and, what was still more unusual, he acquainted
himself with the grammar of the Hebrew language.
Unlike his compatriots, he by no means despised a
knowledge of extra-Talmudic subjects, but studied
mathematics, and wrote a book upon geometry,
algebra, and mathematical astronomy. He exhorted
his disciples and friends to interest themselves in
profane sciences, and openly expressed his convic-
tion that Judaism would be the gainer from such
studies. Only his scrupulous piety, his immaculate
conduct, his unselfishness, and his renunciation of
every office and position of honor, saved him from
the charge of heresy on account of his pursuing
extra-Talmudical branches of knowledge.

Elijah Wilna, above all, implanted a good spirit
in the Lithuanian lews. He taught his sons and

• ^^

disciples to seek simplicity and avoid the casuistry
of the Polish method. In Elijah Wilna the beau-
tiful Talmudical saying was exemplified, "He who
flees from honors is sought out by them." At an
early age he was recognized, even outside of Poland,
as an authority and a man of truth. Yet even
Elijah was subject to the delusion that the hateful

CH. IX. THE CHASSID1M ATTACKED. 39!

Kabbala was a true daughter of Judaism, and con-
tained true elements. He deeply lamented the
moral ruin wrought by the Kabbala among Podol-
ian and Galician Jews, through the rascally Frank,
who had driven them into the arms of the Church,
and made them enemies to the Synagogue ; yet he
could not free himself from it. Even when the
danger of these false doctrines was brought home

«— * <j

to him by the rise of the Chassidim, and he was
compelled openly to oppose them, he could not
relinquish his blind fondness for the Kabbala.

The neo-Chassidim, or Karlinians, had crept into
Wilna, and had established a secret "Stubel" for
their noisy conventicles. A trusty friend of their
leader, and an emissary sent by him, had stealthily
introduced their cult into the town, and won over
several members of the Wilna community. Their
meetings, their proceedings, and their derision of
the Talmudists, were betrayed. The whole congre-
gation were greatly excited at this. They were
indignant that the Karlinians impudently asserted
of the respected Elijah Wilna, that, like his occupa-
tion and his belief, his life was a lie. The ciders
and rabbis forthwith took counsel. The Chassidic
conventicles were straightway attacked, investiga-
tions set on foot, and trials instituted. Writing's
were found among the Chassidim, which contained
the principle that all sadness was to be avoided,
even in the repentance for sins. But greatest un-
easiness was aroused by the alterations in the lit-
urgy and the disrespectful utterances against the
rabbis. Elijah Wilna, who, although he filled no
official position, was always invited to the council
meetings, and had an important voice in its decis-
ions, took a very serious view of the matter, He
beheld in the Chassidic aberration a continuation <>i
Frank's excesses and corrupting influence. 1 he
otherwise gentle and meek man became a veritable
fanatic. The rabbis and the chiefs of the commu-

392 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

nity, together with Elijah Wilna, addressed a letter
to all the large communities, directing them to keep
a sharp eye upon the Chassidim, and to excommu-
nicate them until they abandoned their erroneous
views. Several congregations immediately obeyed
this injunction. In Brody, during the fair, in the
presence of many strangers, the ban was published
against all those who prayed noisily, deviated from
the German synagogue ritual, wore white robes on
Sabbath and the festivals, and were guilty of other
strange customs and innovations. Elijah Wilna's
circle launched a vigorous denunciatory pamphlet
against the offenders. This was the first blow that
the Chassidim experienced. In addition, their
leader, Beer Mizricz, died in the same year (1772) —
the rabbis imagined in consequence of the excom-
munication— and thus they felt themselves utterly
deserted. Owing to the weakness of the king, and
the greed of the neighboring nations, the kingdom
of Poland was dismembered. Through this disor-

^^

ganization the union of the Chassidim was broken,
and the separated members became dependent
upon the legislature, or the arbitrary treatment, of
various governments.

However, this storm did not crush them ; they
remained firm, and did not display the slightest
sign of submitting to their opponents (Mithnagdim).
On the contrary, the struggle made them more
active and energetic. They were not deeply
moved by the ban under which they had been
placed ; this weapon, blunted since the contest for
and against Jonathan Eibeschiitz, could no longer
inflict wounds. The Chassidim, grown to the num-
ber of fifty or sixty thousand, formed themselves
into small groups, each with a leader, called Rebbe.
Their itinerant preachers encouraged the individual
communities to persevere in their tenets, and to
accept persecution as a salutary trial. The connec-
tion of the groups with one another was maintained

CH. IX. ELIJAH WILNA ATTACKS CHASSIDISM. 393

in this way ; a chief from the family of Beer Miz-
ricz was placed at the head as the supreme Zadclik,
to whom the various Rebbe were subordinate, and
for whose use they were to set aside a portion of
their income. The possible apostasy of members
through the onslaughts from Wilna was met by the
order that the Chassidim might read no work that
had not received the approval of the Chassidic
authorities. Obedience towards their leaders had
taken so deep a root in the minds of the Chassi-
dim that they never transgressed this prohibition.
Their chiefs distributed among them the sermons
or collections of sayings supposed to have been
written by Israel Baalshem, or Beer Mizricz, which
emphasized the high importance of the Zaddik, of
the Chassidic life, and of scorn for the Talmudists—
vile writings, which were nevertheless read with ad-
miration by the members, who were kept in a con-
stant state of intoxication. What had hitherto been
optional and individual was raised by these writings
to the rank of statutes and stringent laws.

After Beer's death, two men chiefly contributed
to the exaltation of Chassidism, one through his
unbounded enthusiasm, the other by his scholarship.
These men, neither of whom is open to suspicion,
were Israel of Kozieniza (north of Radom) and
Salman of Liadi, both Beer's disciples.

So strongr did the Chassidim aq-ain become, that

o <_> ,

a second interdict had to be fulminated against
them. This time also the persecution originated in
Wilna, and was instigated by Elijah Wilna. The
Chassidim were declared to be heretics, with whom
no pious Jew might intermarry (summer of 1781).
Two messengers were sent from Wilna to the Lith-

l

uanian congregations to induce them to support the
ban. In consequence of this, the collections of
Chassidic sermons and other writings, although they
contained sentences from Holy Writ, were publicly
burnt in Brody and Cracow. In Selvia, n< ar

394 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX.

Slonim, during the fair, in the presence of large
numbers of Jews, the ban was publicly promulgated
against the Chassidim and their writings (August
21, 1781); but these obsolete methods were of little
use. In the Austrian Polish provinces (Galicia)
other means were employed by the disciples of the
Mendelssohn school against the stultifying system
of the Chassidim. The decree of Joseph II, that
schools for instruction in German and elementary
subjects be established in all Jewish communities,
encountered vigorous resistance from all Jews,
but especially from Chassidim. In the belief that
culture would improve the demoralized and bar-
barous state of the people, a small body of men,
Mendelssohn's admirers, strove zealously to oppose
them. Among the most ardent workers for the
enlightenment of the Galician Jews was Alexander
Kaller. Kaller and his associates probably ob-
tained a decree from the court at Vienna, com-
manding that no Chassidic or Kabbalistic writings
be admitted into Galicia (1785). After the second
partition of Poland, denunciations were also leveled
against the Chassidim in Russian Poland as dan-
gerous to the state. Salman of Liadi was dragged
in chains to St. Petersburg. Elijah Wilna is said to
have been the instigator of this charge, too ; indeed,
he persecuted the sect as long as he lived. After
his death the Chassidim took vengeance upon him
by dancing upon his grave, and celebrating the day
of his decease as a holiday, with shouting and
drunkenness. All efforts made to suppress the
Chassidim were in vain, because in a measure they
represented a just principle, that of opposing the
excesses of Talmudism. Before the end of the
eighteenth century they had increased to 100,000
souls. At the present day they rule in congrega-
tions where they were formerly persecuted, and they
arc spreading on all sides.

CHAPTER X.

THE MEASFIM AND THE JUD^O-CHRISTIAN SALON.

The Progressionists— The Gatherer (Meassef)— David Mendes-
Moses Ensheim— Wessely's Mosaid— Marcus Herz— Solomon
Maimon— Culture of the Berlin Jews— Influence of French Liter-
ature—First Step for Raising- the Jews— The Progressive and
Orthodox Parties— The Society of Friends— Friedlander and
Conversion — Depravity of Berlin Jewesses — Henrietta Herz—
Humbolclt— Dorothea Mendelssohn— Schlegel— Rachel— Schlei-
ermacher — Chateaubriand.

1786—1791 c. E.

The state of the German Jews, among whom the
battle against unreason began, was more satisfac-
tory than that of the Polish Jews. In Germany
youthful activity and energy asserted themselves,
an impulse to action that promised to repair in a
short space of time the neglect of centuries. Great
enthusiasm suddenly sprang up, which produced
wonderful, or at least surprising, results, and over-
came the benumbing effects of apathy. Young men
tore the scepter from the grasp of the aged, and
desired to preach new wisdom, or rather to reju-
venate the old organism of Judaism with new sap.
The synagogue might well have exclaimed, "\Yh<>
hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my
children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing
to and fro? and who hath brought up these?" A
new spirit had come upon these youths, which, in
one night, put an end to their isolation, and trans-
formed them into organs for historical reconstruc-
tion. As if by agreement they suddenly closed the
ponderous folios of the Talmud, turned away from
it, and devoted themselves to the Bible, the eternal
fount of youth. Mendelssohn's Pentateuch trans-
lation poured out a new spirit over them, furnished

396 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X.

them with a new language, and infused new poetry
into them. Whence this body of spirited young
men? What had hitherto been their course of edu-
cation ? Why were they so powerfully influenced?
Suddenly they made their appearance, prophesied a
new future, without knowing exactly what they pro-
phesied, and, scarce fledged, soared aloft. From
Poland to Alsace, from Italy to Amsterdam, London,
and Copenhagen, new voices were heard, singing in
harmonious union. Their significance lay wholly in
their harmony ; singly, the voices appear thin, pip-
ing, and untrained ; only when united do they give
forth a pleasant and impressive tone. Those who
had but recently learnt to appreciate the beauties of
Hebrew, came forward as teachers, to re-establish
in its purity a language, so greatly disfigured, so
generally used, and so continually abused. Inspired
by ideals which the sage of Berlin had conjured up,
they desired to pave the way to a thorough under-
standing of Holy Writ, to acquire a taste for poetry,
and awaken zeal for science. Carried away by
ardor, they ignored the difficulties in the way of a
people, internally and externally enslaved, which
seeks to raise itself to the heights of poetry and
philosophy, and therefore they succeeded in accom-
plishing the revival. On the whole they achieved
more than Mendelssohn, their admired prototype,
because the latter was too cautious to take a step
that might have an untoward result. But these
youths pressed boldly forward, for they had no
reputation to lose, and represented no interests
that could be compromised.

This result was produced by a material and an
ideal circumstance. Frederick's eagerness for
money, his desire to enrich the land, almost com-
pelled the Jews, especially those of Berlin, to accu-
mulate capital. Owing to their manufactories,
speculations, and enormous enterprises on the one
hand, and their moderate manner of living on the

CH. X. DAVID FRIEDLANDER. 397

other, the first Jewish millionaires arose in Berlin,
and by their side many houses in affluent circum-
stances. But what could be done with these riches ?
To the nobility and the court, Jews were not ad-
mitted ; the Philistine burghers closed their doors
against these Jewish upstarts, whom they regarded
with envy. There thus remained for wealthy Jews
only literary intercourse, for which they have always
had a preference. All or the majority had in their
youth made the acquaintance of the Talmud, and
were intimate with the world of books. This cir-
cumstance gave their efforts an ideal character : they
did not worship Mammon alone ; reading in their
leisure hours was a necessity to them. As soon as
German literature had been naturalized in their
midst through Mendelssohn, they included it in
their circle of studies, either with the serious object
of cultivating themselves or to be in accord with
fashion. In this matter they excelled the Christian
citizens, who as a rule did not care for books.
Jewish merchants, manufacturers, and bankers in-
terested themselves in literary productions, as if
they belonged to a guild of learned men, using for
them the time that Christian citizens and workmen
passed in drinking.

The first movement was made in Konigsberg, a
kind of